Pride and Honor
by Mrs.Cebra
Summary: Rin enlisted in the army to pay her father's operation, thinking it was probably the easiest money she'd ever make, however she didn't count on a cruel sergeant and an even worse major to make her welcome.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha nor do I profit from this story in any way besides my own personal satisfaction.

Making Solutions

A young woman stretched lazily in a twin sized bed, the light filtrating from the curtains and purring exactly over the brown eyes. As she removed her childish covers, she rubbed her eyes much in the same fashion any toddler would. Her dark brown hair sticking to her face as her left cheek was still wet with her own saliva.

She paid no mind to her state of total derangement as she took a pair of mismatching socks from the floor and put a pink short over her teddy bear underwear. That day, like any other Sunday, she woke up to the smell of coffee and waffles. A special routine she and her father had established when her mother had passed away three years prior.

Good morning dad! – She said giving him an enthusiastic hug and a loud kiss on the cheek.

My dear Rin, how are you this fine morning sunshine? - said a middle aged man sitting by a rocking chair.

Ready to outshine everyone! - She said loudly as she skipped to the kitchen. She poured maple syrup over the freshly made waffles and set out to look for her mug. Though there were plenty of mugs on the cupboards, she always used the one. It was the one her mother had given her when she started drinking coffee. She had always said it was an important step in every young lady's life.

She closed the last cupboard and went to ask her father if he had seen it. – Hey dad, have you seen my…- That's when she noticed the colorful hand-made designs of her mug sitting by his side, shattered.

Have I seen what darling? He said, not really turning his head her way, like he was trying to concentrate on her voice, and not on the sight of her.

Hmm… never mind dad, do you want me to pick that up for you? She said inching closer to her broken mug.

That would be very helpful dear. I don't know what happened, I just tripped and the mug fell from my hand, just like that- He said rocking back and forth like an old man- that's a shame, it was my favorite.

It's just a mug dad, there are a thousand others- she said quietly, taking the broken pieces of porcelain from the wooden floor - at least you didn't hurt yourself- she added

Yes, I'm quite fine myself…- he said after a little pause.

_So it _is_ getting worse_

She finished picking up the remains of her mother's treasure deciding she would latter glue it together, then settled for another mug from the cupboards, just as she was about to close it, she realized his father's favorite mug had all the while been sitting in the same place where she usually kept hers.

-.-

There seemed to always be something new going on in the state army; there was always a bastard who was fool enough to challenge him. Not that he cared; after all, he always won. But sometimes, he got a little tired of having to set the example. That precise day was one of those times.

As per usual, Sundays were his days off. He had decided not to engage in more training as he usually did when given time for himself, so instead, he had gone to the local pub. His car rumbled quietly in the dark parking lot, if it could even be called that. The dirty roadway was almost enough to almost make him want to turn back to camp. Almost, but not quite.

He got out of his car, putting his keys inside his black trousers as he walked to the entrance of the badly decorated pub. The door man stank of alcohol, whereas the whole place was covered in the thick smoke of cigarette of every brand known in town. Costumers in the bar stool laughed loudly banging their hands on the counters while their generally unkempt bears rivaled that of prehistoric cave men. It was all very disgusting. But he refused to shudder as he walked to the bar, his heavy boots making no sound on the rough stone floor.

Shippo, attend the new customer- yelled someone from the other end of the bar stool- a grumping redhead made his way to him, still drying a green liquid on his tattered jeans

What can I get for you? - He asked, not really looking at him, but rather, picking something up from the floor.

Whiskey on the rocks- he responded in clipped tones, he didn't even want to know what the boy had been doing, but it seemed a non-prepared drink was a safer course.

Right away- he said bending over once again, until all he could see of him was a furry thing coming off the back of his jeans.

His golden eyes narrowed at the sight of it, but he decided not to give it much thought, as he noticed none of the other costumers seemed to mind it. He reclined on his chair, before noticing the wood cracked under his weight. Right before it collapsed, he leapt from it. Narrowing his eyes as the whole bar erupted in a series of laugher, snickers and banging all over the tables. He was being mocked. And he did not like it.

-what's wrong boy? You can't take a little prank? - said one of the men sitting on the near tables as he got up, knocking his chair over.

He had to cover his nose, as the foul smell of that man reached his nostrils. He smelled of beer, shit, vomit and rotting flesh, although he couldn't quite picture why someone would smell like that.

-I think he doesn't like you Mou- said another one by his side, cracking his knuckles in a way that reminded him of the Wild West.

-you don't like me boy? Is it because I'm not pretty like you? Maybe you could lend me some hair advice- said "Mou" eying his silver hair maliciously.

The bar was suddenly filled with the loud banging and the drunken laughs of all those around him. Apparently, they had no better thing to do than listen to a drunk speak.

He made an effort not to let his temper out. He breathed in and out _I just came here to take some time off. _He thought to himself, although he was usually not one to give people second chances. He decided to just take another seat on the bar stool ignoring the whistles and turning his back on the group that had now gathered around him.

-hey! My friend's talking to you! - said the other one, raising his voice like he could possibly be offended by his attitude.

- I think he ignoring us Rem, maybe we should teach him a lesson on good manners- Mou said. At the lack of response from the cold stranger, he motioned for Rem and another one of the "regulars" to grab him from behind.

- I wouldn't do that if I were you- said a man at the far end of the stool. He recognized him from the camp. He was one of the captains from the army. Byakuya, if he remembered correctly.

- Or what? Are you gonna fight us? - said Rem, pointing his way.

- I said nothing of the sort, but don't say I didn't warn you- said the man in a sing-song voice.

Mou scoffed at Byakuya, mumbling something about getting him after they finished with the pretty boy, but then, as he prepared to grab him from behind, he fell short on his reach and broke his pinky on the counter. Everyone looked confused as the stranger kept on calmly sipping his whiskey. He had not moved, and yet, Mou had been unable to grab him.

-so much talk and you can't even measure your step? How pathetic! - He said coldly. Next thing he saw were Shippo's eyes going wide as Rem grabbed a chair and flung it to his back. Only to realize he was no longer sitting where he had moments ago and what was even worse, Moe was so close, he got pieces of wood all over his stained shirt.

-what the…- but Rem didn't get a chance to finish. His throat constricted painfully around the little air he had used to talk, as one single hand lifted him from the floor by his neck.

Then the third man accompanying them tried to punch him, but he grabbed his fist mid-air and squeezed it so hard, the man began to crumble until he screamed from pain. If the sudden crack they heard was any indication, he had broken a bone in the man's hand.

You Monster! What have to done to Gin? Yelled Rem kicking his feet helplessly as he took a glance at the sickly twisted fingers in Ginkotsu's hand.

_Remarkable, he can still talk. That won't do- _he tightened his hand around Rem's head cracking his fingers as he sensed an approaching Mou from his side –_fool_

He released Gin's hand and punched Mou's chin, all the while using Rem's hanging body as defense against anyone who dared come near him. He heard Shippo shout at him as Moukotsu's body knocked over a few glasses in the stool, falling unconscious on the act.

-Sesshoumaru-Sama, I don't think anyone here would dare challenge your power, please release the poor bastard before you end up destroying the rest of the bar, some of us quite enjoy coming here- said Byakuya smiling widely from his end of the stool.

He scoffed at the audacity of him, but decided he had had enough for the night, the dropped Rem's now almost blue body and drowned the rest of the whiskey in one good swallow.

He set it down on the stool and dumped the money twice the drink's worth on its side, watching as Shippo carefully took the money and scurried to find the change. By the time he came back, Sesshoumaru was already gone.

-.-

That very same night on the other side of town, Rin sat on the living room, watching the news on the TV, apparently, the state army would be leaving town in another two days, they were still trying to recruit people into the ranks. She signed. As she flipped through the channels, she had to wonder once more what she was going to do. Her father had not done much for the entire day, and she had a feeling she knew why as she heard him stumble on the furniture of his study.

Their financial situation wasn't improving any, bills were piling up, and no one wanted to hire her father because of his condition, which by the looks of things, was getting worse. Fear started gripping her heart. She would be out of high school very soon, she had barely enough funds to go to college, and she couldn't leave her father to fair on his own. _Happiness depends only on you Rin-chan... Don't let life take that smile away from your face- _that's what her mother would have said.

She stopped zapping, took a deep breath and set her mind. She decided to confront him on the matter, subtly. She got up from the couch and walked quietly on her furry slippers to her father's study.

_I need to get him to admit it to me; otherwise he won't take my help. I can't let you go through this alone dad- _she hesitated for a moment on the handle to her father's study, but finally decided there was no other way. She tightened her fist at her side and nodded to herself, finding her resolve to open the door.

He barely registered the sound of the door opening and he moved his head subtly, trying to place the source, without being too obvious about it.

-Hey dad, do you think this shirt looks good on me? - She asked tentatively.

- Yes dear, everything looks gorgeous on you- he said readily, not even bothering to pretend he was looking.

-_guess I'll have to be a little cleverer-_ but some girl at school said this is really not my color, I wouldn't want to look pale on the yearbook photo- she said, trying not to whine too much.

- That's ridiculous dear, every color looks good on your lovely face- he said eyeing her shirt for the first time since she entered the room

- Really, Beige? Don't you think it makes me look pale? - She said looking at him closely.

He shook his head and lowered his eyes- no dear, beige is just fine. He said, smiling at her.

Are you sure? What do you think about this one? She said taking another shirt from behind her back. Doesn't blue make me look better?

He doubted for a moment- Yes dear of course- he said, becoming a little agitated.

So, which one do you choose? This or that one? She said, gesturing between the two shirts

The blue one- he said

_Got you- _there's no blue shirt dad- she said sadly, putting the pink blouse over his desk.

Of course there is, you just said…oh… you tricked me- he hung his head low, turning to look at his embroiled night shoes.

When did it happen, dad? - She said softly, kneeling in front of him trying to look in his eyes. He no longer pretended to see her, but rather, his eyes looked straight through her.

Last week…but today, it got worse, the doctor said it could happen. How did you realize?

You drank your coffee from my mug; that was my first clue- she said, smiling sadly, although he couldn't see her.

I'm sorry sweetheart, I wanted to tell you, but I knew you would only worry too much. I'm fine, I'll figure something out. You just need to have faith- He said patting her head in what should have been a comforting gesture, had he not been utterly lost on where to find her.

No dad, please, let me help you. You've done enough for me; now let me do something for you. For once. I'll get a job. I'll earn enough money to pay for the eye surgery; just trust me on this, ok? - She kissed his forehead and ran out of the study before he could say something to stop her.

She wiped the tear threatening to roll down her cheek and grabbed the phone from the receiver; she called a friend from school- hey Kohaku? Remember what you said about getting in the army? Count me in, tomorrow at 7. I'll wait for you at the front door.

-.-


	2. Chapter 2: welcome to the army

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

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><p><strong>Welcome to the Army<strong>

Monday morning found Rin on the front door to her country house. She had lived there her whole life. That house held the best of her memories with her father; she wouldn't let that become a place for sorrow.

The day before when she went to sleep she had heard her father just outside her door, but it seemed he thought better of it and decided not to say anything. He knew there was nothing he could do. She had always been stubborn, that was without a doubt.

The morning was cold and she had to stick her hands into her yellow sweater. Her shorts and fluffy boots did nothing to improve her cold, but just as she was about to change into a better suited outfit, she heard a car nearing the curb.

Sure enough, when she lifted her eyes in the general way of her front yard, she saw an old truck parked just in front of her neighbor's trash. Yep. The guy had a knack for the dirty and unkempt.

The driver lowered the window and she smiled widely at Kohaku's still sleepy face.

Can I give you a ride, honey? - He asked playfully. She had always said Kohaku behaved like an old trucker and he on his part promised too at least shave. He didn't want to end up like the men of town in the local pub.

I don't know sir. Daddy always warns me not to take rides from strangers; she said swinging on her footballs.

But I'm a cool stranger- he said putting on a pair of sunglasses.

She struggled not to laugh, though it was really hard. She took a breath to calm down. – Ok, then- she said innocently before running across the front yard and into Kohaku's car, laughing the whole way.

Kohaku shook his head at Rin's crazy ways. They had been friends since elementary school and all through high school. He should have been used to her by then, but it seemed Rin was just an endless source of energy and happiness. She always found something good to make out of every situation.

He watched quietly as she climbed in the front seat of his white pick-up truck and as soon as she closed the door he sped down the road, laughing silently at her exclamation of surprise. That was the only way to keep Rin from getting bored of him.

They pulled right in front of the local enlistment office. There was an officer standing on a very strict position right at the door, and then there was the one sitting behind the desk. He was positively bored out of his mind, drumming his hands over the desk incessantly like an overly active person would. She smiled widely upon noticing the folder right in front of him, she went to reach the folder to put her name on it, but just as she set to it, the man took it away from her reach and eyed her suspiciously.

-are you lost, girl? How may I help you? - He said in an unnerving calm tone at odds with his hyperactive body language.

- hmm, actually, I came to enlist on the army- she said smiling once again, though she didn't miss the skeptical look in the officer's face.

-You want to enlist? Truly? Why don't you spare me the waste of time and just go home, maybe bake some cookies for your boyfriend? - He said with an insufferable shake of his head _kid's these days._

_- _I'd do that, if I hadn't already decided to bake you instead- she said heatedly. Kohaku shifted at her back uncomfortably.

- well, you know what, even if you wanted to enlist, there's no way you can, enlistment dates are already over- he said with a satisfied smile on his face. He was not going to make it easy for her.

-Really? So what's the sign outside reading about open enlistment until tomorrow? I watched the news last night, there are not enough people for you to be picky- she said, reaching once more for the folder. Her confrontment with the front-desk officer hadn't gone unnoticed to the man standing outside the door. _Great, now if I ever get in, I'll be the clown of the squad._

The officer breathed loudly and then smoothed the invisible wrinkles in his already stiff uniform; straightening compulsively his nametag- it read Jaken.

-very well, do as you please- he said, putting the folder in front of her grudgingly, though she had a feeling he had only done it to avoid being seen with her for longer.

Next, Kohaku signed himself on the same list and they picked up their dates for the physical, psychological and a handful other tests.

Results would be given in two days time; enough for people to get everything ready, in case they parted with the temporary camp.

* * *

><p>That night Sesshoumaru sat in his room at the camp going over the list of new recruits, the examiners needed his signature to process the final list and he was just not so happy with the outcome of the whole afternoon. A few of the aspirants had criminal records and a few of them had not yet finished high school, even though you had to be at least of age to enlist. <em>Statistics are not looking up this year<em>…

He didn't finish the list before he threw the folder in his desk. Examination was over for the day before 4:00 that afternoon. Usually it took them up until 6:00 to determine which of the aspirants were the most capable, but there was really not too much to see.

Only three aspirants got his attention that afternoon: Kohaku Uchiha, Rin Suzuki and Shippo Kimura.

He sipped his bourbon as he remembered the physical examination. Kohaku Uchiha had shown an impeccable condition and during the examination, everything was in order with the boy, he had also been informed his psychological test had met all requirements; he would probably make a good private, though it remained to be seen. If he was correct, the boy would probably exceed expectations.

Then, there was Shippo… he remembered the boy from the dirty bar downtown. He had almost had a heart attack when Sesshoumaru entered the examination room. He made silent note of this, but didn't let his amusement show. Sometimes it was too easy with the new recruits.

Last, he had fixed his eyes on the girl, Rin Suzuki. She looked like nothing too special, long brown hair, pale complexion, average height, skinny and overall, girly. She might have fit in anywhere, had they been on a mall. But they weren't. She was the only girl who'd opted for the army, or, at all. The rest of them were all men, taller, stronger, faster and more apt for the army than her. All in all, she looked like a schoolgirl, even though she must have been at least 18.

She lacked most of the qualities, she was barely on the weigh standards and she talked back to Jaken of the front desk, but there was fire in her eyes, he decided at some points, that could even be more important than her other qualities. Her psychological test showed she had a motive for being there, though she refused to confide it to the examiners. She had only said it was because of her father.

Of all three of them, he had been the most interested on the last one, he knew he was probably going to regret doing it, but he needed to satisfy his curiosity, wherever it might take him. He opened the folder and sighed on the blank space beside her name.

_Welcome to the army, Rin Suzuki._

* * *

><p>Rin and Kohaku skipped school that day, the day was already over by the time they got out of the examinations. They decided to grab something to eat at the local dinner, so they got on Kohaku's truck and drove downtown. On the way to there, they found one of the guys from the examination walking alone on the road. The next house was at least two miles away, so they decided to give him a ride.<p>

Shippo got on the truck and thanked them for the ride; all the way, they talked about the examination and the other people there.

You know, for some reason, I don't think I'll have a shot. But hey, when you guys get it, you can send me postcards- Rin said jokingly, though she was not entirely joking.

Don't be such a pessimist Rin, I'm sure we'll all get in- said Kohaku, then he added- it's not like they have too much to choose from- that earned him a light punch from Rin.

She noticed the boy painfully quiet by her side, then realized he had not spoken at all. She figured he must have felt uncomfortable since Kohaku and she already knew each other.

Sorry… how rude of us, what's your name?- she asked trying to be friendly

Hmm.. Shippo. Shippo Kimura- he said quietly- watching his hand with the upmost interest.

Do you live nearby Shippo? – He stopped his nervous motions and looked at her.

Yes, I live in the downtown, my father owns a pub there- he said looking everywhere but her eyes.

He hadn't had the chance to watch her during the examination, but now that he looked her upfront, he realized she was beautiful, in a very natural and fresh way. He suddenly felt shy.

That's great! We're headed to a dinner that way. Would you like to join us?- she smiled brightly, and he felt his cheeks set aflame by the mere sight of her.

S-s-ssure- he said, mentally kicking himself for stuttering, the rest of the ride was spent rather quietly.

* * *

><p>- Do you think they'll publish the results in the local newspaper?- she asked sipping on her banana-strawberry smoothie<p>

- Maybe they'll send results by mail?- said Shippo, still not watching the other two, though they had been at the dinner for the past hour.

- I don't know guys, honestly, I'd be surprised if someone even got in- he said softly.

-what do you mean? I thought I was the pessimist of the group- Rin said, lifting an eyebrow at him.

- Well… did you see the look on that demon's face? He looked utterly disgusted- said Kohaku- I'm sure if it was up to him to decide, there would be no new recruits this year.

- Shippo, are you alright?- Rin asked when he started to shake. The silent worry in her eyes was almost unbearable.

- y-yeah, I- I'm fff-fi-fine, I'll just, I'll- yeah…- he said as he got up and left.

Rin and Kohaku stared dumbfounded at the back of Shippo

Did we say anything wrong?- asked Rin out of the blue- she looked so innocent it was impossible for anyone to hold anything against her.

I don't think so, Rin. Come, it's getting dark, I'll get you home- he paid the bill and they left as well.

* * *

><p>Shippo woke up that night suffocated and cold in his own sweat. He was a total nervous wreck. He had to wonder for the tenth time that day if he had done the right thing by enlisting in the army. Though he didn't want to work at a bar for the rest of his life, he felt incredibly anxious about the results of the examination. <em>And that guy… <em>he shuddered compulsively, trying to get his nerves to calm down.

He still had the vivid memory from the day he had fought against three of the most troublesome customers at the bar. He never really knew why his father had never bothered to throw them out, but he guessed it was because he was scared of what they might do to him. Sesshoumaru, however, reached a whole new spectrum of the word "fear" for Shippo.

He did his best to stay asleep, but in the end, he knew it was a lost fight. He watched the ceiling of his so-called room; it was actually no such thing. He slept in the storage room, while his father took the couch in the living room; the whole apartment was in the upper floor of the pub. That meant they usually never slept on nights, since they also took care of the business.

He was tired. He wanted a life of his own.

He remembered that day's events and felt a smile tucking at his lips as he recalled Rin's smiling face, her gentle nature. _She smelled nice too…_that was his last thought as he drifted to sleep peacefully.

* * *

><p>When they arrived to her house, it was already dark outside. They had been listening to music the whole ride, but then the radio station played a romantic song on the background, soft enough to be awkward, but loud enough so they could not ignore it.<p>

She burst out laughing at the look of embarrassment on Kohaku's face, he had obviously not been anticipating that, but he laughed either way.

When they stopped laughing she looked straight into his eyes

Thank you for supporting me Kohaku. I know you wanted to enlist from the beginning, but it still means a lot to me- she said sincerely, taking his left hand in one of hers.

He blushed lightly and mumbled a small "you're welcome" there was something about her that always made him act like a fool.

He needed to tell her something, _anything_ he thought frantically at her expectant eyes.

Then he accidentally pressed on the horn, embarrassing himself further and calling the attention of her father, all at the same time- _smooth…_

She only laughed some more and then got off the car. He wanted to slap his face at his clumsiness, but instead, he decided to just drive off.

* * *

><p>Her father was waiting for her by the front door and she immediately knew he had something on his mind.<p>

-Rin, the principal called me today to ask if you were sick. Did you skip school to be with that boy? - He asked her far too casually. She decided to answer carefully.

- No dad, I was with Kohaku, but I didn't skip school to be with him- she said quietly. She was still taking her boots when she heard him talk once again.

-Are you going to tell me where you went? - He asked seriously. Rin tried not to wince at his tone. She knew he was only worried about her.

- I… I… went to seek a solution… to our problems- she said, sidestepping the question.

- What does that even mean young lady? I hope you're not getting yourself in any trouble, you know I can only do so much like this- he said sounding desperate.

_God, I feel awful, I should have told him where I was going…- _but then she decided it was probably for the best, he would have tried to stop her anyways.

I'll explain dad, but I can't right now… I need to know something first- she said reassuringly- I'm not in trouble, I promise- she kissed his forehead like she had the day before- just have faith, ok?

She almost cried at the lost look on his face, but she couldn't break down now. She had to be strong for the both of them, so before she could shed any tears, she ran up the staircase and into her room.

* * *

><p>Two days later, Rin walked into the army's camp. Everywhere people shout out orders and hymns, every once in a while men would stop to look at her. Some looked her up and down appreciatively, some laughed behind their hands, and some stuck up their noses. She breathed deeply.<p>

_I have a feeling this is not going to be easy… _

She walked until she reached the center of the camp, where a group was already being gathered

I know you ladies think you're very tough just because we allowed you to join the army, but remember- he smiled cruelly- you will never get to be anything more than dirt under the boot heel of an officer. You're here for one reason and one reason only, so that maybe one day you cease being a complete and utter waste of space. You will from now on say goodbye to mommy's homemade cookies, her kisses and her love- he said removing the dirt under his sharp claws- You'll only eat what we give you, you'll dress like we tell you to, and you'll kiss some asses or you'll deeply regret it. The only love you may ever profess is toward the flag, and you better be fond of hard work, 'because that's what you're going to have to do to earn your keep- he stopped walking to get right in front of shippo's face- do I make myself clear?

Shippo started shaking uncontrollably, she really had to wonder why they had chosen him, however, as she tried to get a better sight of the sweating young man, the sergeant saw her. She no longer felt sorry for Shippo, but she did gulp audibly.

Well, well…. What do we have here? Is this a little girl here? What's wrong honey? Did you get lost? - He asked innocently, though the smile on his lips spoke otherwise. Around her, some snickered and some tried hard not to laugh at her, all failing miserably.

Quiet! - Yelled the sergeant, his blue eyes narrowing at the group, though she knew he had not forgotten about her- I don't think I gave anyone permission to talk, let alone laugh… you don't let me listen to the princess' excuse for her tardiness… do tell us hime-sama, why did you not grace us with your presence before? - He said, taking her hand in his claws charmingly.

I'm sorry I'm late sir, my alarm clock broke yesterday and I didn't get a chance to find a replacement, so I overslept- she said quietly

Well look at that, she overslept! But of course that is perfectly understandable, you're royalty after all- he said mockingly bowing before her.

I-I never said that, I know it's inexcusable, it won't happen again- she said trying not to let her anger show. Though she was red from the humiliation he was making her go through.

His mocking tone was gone the second she opened her mouth to speak. He was clearly not amused over her intervention- I beg your pardon? - He said softly, leaning closer to her. When she didn't talk, he continued- of course you won't ever be late again, princess… you can bet on it- he said menacingly, and then he leaned away from her. Raising his voice once more- two laps around camp, all of you, except for you, hime-sama, of course… you'll do 10

It was only a heartbeat before everyone yelled an audible - Sir, yes sir!-

Oh and, for those of you who don't know me, my name is Kouga Yamamoto, I am also your worst nightmare- he smirked maliciously

Rin could have sworn that comment was meant for her.

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><p>-.-<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: serve the punishment

**A/N**: I don't really have any kind of excuse to my tardiness, however, I will say I felt like I just couldn't publish what I had writen previously. I also wanted to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited and tagged this story, or myself, as an author so far. Hopefully, this makes up for the long delay.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own inuyasha or any of its characters, nor do I profit from this.

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><p><strong>Serve the Punishment<strong>

She rolled over in her bed, turning sideways and puffing her pillow twice to avoid her own droll on the sheets. She turned again with practiced ease to avoid the sure-to-come rays of sunlight on her face… Only to find herself in the floor

-"_what__the__…__!__" – _she opened her eyes sleepily expecting to find her usually messy room, only to realize she was actually in a large room which only occupied two single beds, each with the same grey sheets and the same neatly-arranged uniform on the nightstand each had on opposite sides. The room was actually quite depressing, and she had to remind herself for the umpteenth time that day why she was there. She sighed reluctantly and picked her pillow from where it had fallen by her side.

It was quite disgusting; not only was it wet from her saliva, it also smelled weird. She tried not to give it much importance and went to sleep again.

She closed her eyes and embraced the darkness. However, no sooner had she closed her eyes, she was met with a cold splash of water to her face. She did her best not to scream in pure agony at the cruelty of such thing, but she couldn't quite control her reaction to such sudden wake-up call as she jumped from the bed, nearly knocking herself out on the bedpost.

"Since you were late yesterday I decided you needed a better alarm clock"- said someone in a calm tone, though it was obvious he found it all very amusing.

"W-what? What the fuck are you talking about?"- She said angrily- "what are you even doing here? Aren't you supposed to stay out of the women's bedroom?"- she said, now a little more self-conscious of her current state of disarray

"Since I'm your superior, that rule does not apply to me and you will not receive a better treatment from the rest just because you're a little princess"- he said looking at her intently-" now… clean this mess and try to be on time today"- he said dropping the half-full bucket on her bed.

She suppressed the need to launch at his back and tackle him, although she did laugh at the image. Somehow she imagined tenant Kouga would kill her if she ever got close to his hair. In the distance, she could still hear him giving orders to anyone on the way to the field. Apparently he had leadership issues.

* * *

><p>As it happened, she didn't make it in time, perhaps due to the fact that she would have already been late even if she ran all the way to the field in her pajamas. She should have guessed Kouga wouldn't be as kind as to give her a wakeup call. He was merely mocking her. <em>And<em>_to__think__I__actually__thought__he__was__making__me__a__favor._As she ducked behind the many rows of strictly organized men in the field she saw Shippo making his way over as well. His red hair somehow managed to stick out of his hat in the most baffling ways.

As he neared, she realized his boots were unlaced, his belt was left undone and he was sticking his shirt inside the pants while he tried not to trip on the way there.

-"Rin! I…. how….. How are you?"- He tried to control his breathing as he spoke, but apparently, it had been too much exertion for that hour in the morning.

- "Shippo! What happened to you? Why are you running late?"- She asked frantically trying not to raise her voice as Kouga yelled something to the front rows.

- "I … I woke up and… there was a note attached to the door for me"- he struggled to breath and lace his boots at the same time- "It said… to go to some building close by and… and fetch for water. But….as it turns out…ouch!" – He bit his finger-"there was no building by that name. By the time I realized I had been pranked, I got back to the dorm, but the door was locked, so I had to climb through the window".

-"you were what?"- She asked hysterically, making her own hair into a tight bon.

-"I think I was…"- but at that precise moment his lifted his head from his boots and froze mid sentence

- "Shippo? What's…?"- But as she turned around to see, she realized Kouga was already there behind her. They were screwed.

-"well well well… what do we have here? Late again, I see"- he tried to make it seem as though he was offended by them, but she could hear the superior smirk in his tone.

Shippo got up as fast as he could, and consequently tripped over his feet, landing his whole weight on her petite frame. Needless to say, her legs gave away under the sudden momentum.

Although they were not allowed to laugh, it was impossible for everyone not to. Even Kouga seemed to be encouraging her humiliation. She decided she probably shouldn't have felt pity on Shippo; not that she had anything against him, but at that moment, his clumsiness was not funny… at all.

* * *

><p>Jaken sat in front of the desk inside one of the many offices on camp. Paperwork was coming out slow due to his total lack of knowledge in many of the fields his post was supposed to cover.<p>

Not like he cared, in fact, out of the many things in his mind at that moment, work was probably the last of them. The only reason he had studied to get inside the army was because he had no other choice. He was pretty comfortable living out of hiss mother's rent, until the stinky woman dropped dead in front of the couch. At the time, she had been attempting to swallow a rather large roasted beef and no one was around to see it happen. Autopsy revealed she had been two days dead by the time they found her. That was how much he appreciated her.

Unfortunately, his mother had a poor salary as a cashier, and she did like to eat a lot, so what little they gave him for her life insurance was spent in a ratty suit for the funeral and the debts she had piled up for months without his knowledge. Jaken was broke. So he did the one thing he had thought logical at the time; he attempted to rob some rich people downtown. What he didn't know at the moment was that said people were actually pretty trained in many painful ways and they were all part of the army.

That's where he met Sesshoumaru. He did after all, live in that house. So at the end of that very disastrous night, he failed miserably, but he knew three things for sure: one, they where the most powerful and dangerous people he would ever encounter in his miserable lifetime, two, he would never attempt such a thing again just in case he was wrong about the first, and three, he owned his life to the eldest son.

He never quite wondered why he had done that; he imagined it was out of respect (though many said his obsession bordered on insane) but he did get in military school and after that, he dedicated every minute of that time to make sure he paid back his dept.

He had entered the army and climbed his way to a position where he would be able to work for him, after all, his greatest pride was to be able to serve under the orders of Sesshoumaru; most days, the major ignored him, when he didn't, he was usually in for a lot of trouble. Everyone considered Jaken a pest, but at least when he was around they didn't have to suffer the wrath of the Taiyoukai firsthand. So they kept him around, for logistics.

He looked at the clock for the third time that morning, noticing how his pulse went overdrive as it read 9:20; he was supposed to finish three documents before 10:00 and he was barely done with the first, which was by all accounts the least important.

He started hyperventilating, so in what he thought was an exceptionally good idea for him; he decided all he had to do was open the window. He realized his mistake as all the papers in the small office went flying everywhere. Some of them fled out the window.

He turned his back on the window as he ran around the office grabbing papers, folding documents and trying to keep the rest from leaving the premises. He watched horrified as the last stack of papers suddenly started moving as a strong gust of wind entered the office once more, this time, he launched his small body over the stack of papers, knocking a glass of water over his desk and the papers.

It was in that position that Kagome found him, as she opened the door hurriedly, mumbling something about an emergency as she quickly dropped a new sheet of paper over his desk and just as quickly exited the room, not once glancing back.

As she closed the door, Kagome stopped reading, suddenly realizing there had been something odd about the office she had just exited.

_What__was__that?_She faced she had just closed a moment before and entered the room once again.

"Oh my god! What the hell happened here? "- she waved her arms frantically as she gestured the entire office.

"What does it look like, woman?"- he said, trying to sound threatening, despite de fact that he was dripping in water and had paper sheets sticking to his balding head.

"It looks like a hurricane just came inside your office" -she said, trying not to sound offended at the fact that he never called her by her name- "shouldn't that window be closed?"- She said, just then noticing the source of all problems.

"Of course not! You think I'm stupid? I would know if that window needed to be closed…" -she looked like she was about to protest, so he quickly added "don't you have an emergency or something better to do?" he asked trying to cover up his own mistake

"Right! -The papers I just left you should be in Sango's office by the end of the afternoon" she said, once again walking hurriedly to the door, all the while skipping over fallen objects and pieces of paper.

She slammed the door closed behind her, only to open it a second later

"What are the water and soil for?"-

"Get out!"-

"But…uh...never mind"- she proceeded to escape the little office as she saw one of the high commanders approaching her, just in case she got caught up in the calamity that was sure to befall the small imp when his superior found out about that mess. She concluded she could always ask later.

She nearly ran down the hall as she heard the door creaking open followed by a string of very colorful and unfortunate death threats over the imp and the following seven generations of his family (if he ever got that far). She had never liked the man, but at the moment, she almost pitied him.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Jaken found himself picking up the remains of the papers and his own pride from around the office. At that precise moment he wasn't particularly happy about the results, but decided it would suffice. He leaned over the last paper by the window<p>

Just in time to witness Rin's humiliation, he would most likely never forget how the little human had gone over his authority on the first days of the physical examinations, so he was enjoying the view. That was, of course, until he received a rather urgent phone call from one of the secret branches in the army.

"Umm… hello? Who is this?"-

"Hello? Who is this?"- Imitated a rather irritated voice on the other end of the line -"do you even have to ask? You fool" -the person said venomously. Jaken had to swallow the sudden lump on his throat as it went uncomfortably dry "there's been a situation in the last mission and we need someone to take care of the cleaning" he said firmly

_So,__in__other__words,__you__need__someone__to__do__the__dirty__job_"what is the situation exactly, sir?"- He said, smoothing the ends of his jacket compulsively. He knew he had made a mistake when the line suddenly went very quiet

"Surely, you don't expect me to disclose such information to one of such lowly rank as yourself?" -he said coldly. Then he chuckled as if the mere idea was too ridiculous to fathom. The anticipation made him impossibly eager, but he was smart enough not to make further questions on that matter, he didn't need a longer list of people trying to get him killed.

"Oh no sir, of course not…err... how can I be of service?"- He asked drying his sweaty hands on his otherwise stiff uniform.

"I need you to drag your sorry ass over the emergency room immediately" the person yelled at the end of the phrase, then as an afterthought added -"and bring me a cappuccino on your way over, no delays" -then the line went dead.

Jaken turned the paper over in his hand, and decided to stick it inside his uniform as he made a hasty run for the infirmary.

Upon arrival, Jaken noticed something wasn't right, everyone just kept running one way or the other, although it was hard to say for sure if they were actually accomplishing something with that; to be more exact, it was around ten men dressed in white, the nurse he had encountered earlier and four other dirty and deranged looking men sitting by the small hall which they sometimes referred to as the waiting room. He didn't recognize any of the last four, but they all looked rather terrifying, although neither wore any distinctive medal to tell which rank they belonged to.

For the first time in five years he had the feeling something really bad had happened, (the first time being when he found out Sesshoumaru-sama didn't remember him from their little incident) his worst fears were confirmed as he saw an ambulance arrive to the infirmary, the man in the stretcher was quickly surrounded by the white men and soon after by the soldiers sitting by; apparently this person was rather important. That's when he knew; e knew without a doubt they hadn't summoned him to that place to clean any particular mess, they called him to help control the situation.

The person who had just come injured had to be him, there was no other way. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach he walked closer to the troubled crowd, the bile suddenly rising to his mouth as he witnessed the ever immaculate Seshoumaru- sama lying unconscious in the barely improvised bed, his arm severed and his uniform ripped beyond repair. His face ever cold and ruthless, twisted in pain as the quickly assembled emergency crew moved the stretcher into the OR leaving bloodstains all over the floor. The moment the doors closed Jaken knew without a doubt he knew he would carry that sight with him forever.

* * *

><p>Kouga was yelling at Rin and Shippo, more like humiliating them in front of the squad, he was doing a really good job out of it too, if you asked Rin. She could feel her cheeks burning in embarrassment as he went over the whole accident, mocking them and demeaning them in the same sentence; She even had to admit the man had talent.<p>

-"…so in order to do that, I gather you need to learn the lesson harder than the rest…no?"- he said, pausing for the answer even though he didn't really expect one. – "in the army we do things one way, but in this squad, we do things my way"- if his lopsided smile was anything to go by, he was planning some really nasty punishment for them-"ginger!"- he yelled at Shippo

-"sir?"

-" you'll hand over your uniform, by the end of the afternoon"- his fangs gleamed under the sunlight- "after am done with you, You'll learn just how important your uniform is"- he said, just before ripping Shippo's outer layer of the uniform, and sending him to clean the toilettes with it.

Then he turned, and started giving orders, Rin thought for a moment she'd been left off the hook, as she disposed to get information, he seemed to remember about her, so he turned her way, walking slowly, like a predator just about to attack

-"oh, yes, I almost forgot about you, Hime-sama. How silly of me not to notice your ladyship right there"- he said in mock reverence- you of course, require a different type of punishment, he said, as he closed in on her, intimidating her with his presence, looking deep into her eyes, trying to make her lose her balance-" oh yes, you need" –

-"beep! Beep! Beep!"- he lowered his eyes to his cell phone, but otherwise didn't move from her.

-"yes, this is sergeant Kouga, he said"- looking at her all the while-"not particularly….yes"-then he went silent. Rin held her breath as he pushed away from her. Apparently, the conversation had just turned into a serious one. – "I see. yes, I have the perfect candidate….very well, I'll wait for her, no excuses"- he hung up and put his cell phone on his breast pocket.

-"on second thought, hime-sama, I have a better solution to our predicament"- he said turning his back on her.

Rin didn't really understand what he meant, but decided against questioning it, she'd been in enough trouble as it was.

That's pretty much how 20 minutes latter Kagome came into the training field, burning all demonic aura 6 feet around her. As she came behind Kouga, he had at least the decency to look affronted.

"Nurse Kagome, how very wonderful to see you out here with us, are you going to tend our wounds?"- he said lecherously

"You know perfectly well why I'm here sergeant, and you better not tempt me, I've already had a rough day, and its only 9. Now, if you could spare me the pleasantries, where is the private?"-

The poor girl could barely be as strong as her small body allowed her, but she was proud enough to stand straight, even as it was painfully obvious she was the clown of the squad. Somehow, she guessed that could be an advantage to this particular case…at least for now.

Kagome cleared her throat and called Rin to join her. Rin hesitantly assessed Kouga's reaction, waiting for his permission to leave the lines.

-"what the hell are you waiting for; don't make my woman wait for you!"- and that was all the warning she got before he threw an object the size of a golf ball straight to her face, she managed to move in time to let it grace her shoulder.

It was only a matter of seconds when Rin felt, rather than saw as the nurse flared her spiritual powers well beyond the limit of what felt comfortable for any demon 20 feet around her.

There was really no logical way to explain what happened next; Kagome…_asked?_Kouga to release her and apologize to Rin. Just as she was getting ready to shot back a smart retort, a very foul smell hit her nose, she did her best not to let her disgust show, but she could barely hold it together, and she imagined the demons in the field were not doing much better. She resisted the urge to cover her mouth and nose multiple times in the space of a minute, the realization hit her: the smell was coming from Kouga, more accurately, from his flesh; it was burning slowly.

-"mmm, excuse me, miss, err...nurse,_miss__nurse?_Err... I mean- what am I doing here? I have no experience what so ever in the medical field, I don't even know how to clean a wound"- she said hurriedly as Kagome walked (ran?) her through the hospital wing across the camp.

- "well, today's your lucky day, you'll just learn from scratch"- said the nurse harshly. She was beginning to wonder if she was going to get that edge that came so naturally to everyone on the camp.

-_geez!__Why__don__'__t__you__bite__me?_ "Ahem! Well, you don't understand, it's a little more complicated than that, you see, I can't stand the smell, or get my eyes on blood, for that matter. So, you see, I can't be a nurse"- she concluded, satisfied with herself- "don't you have some other job for he? Tending beds, maybe?"- she winced as Kagome stopped dead on her tracks, her aura rising as a chill went up Rin's spine, she was already planning the best exit route and a quick way to apologize to Kouga, when she realized Kagome's wrath was not directed at her.

-"what the hell do you think this is? The battlefield? Get your dirty ass out of my hospital"- she yelled as the poor unsuspecting soldiers in the waiting room scrambled to leave the premises at her command. Then she turned around and with a sweet smile referred to Rin-"I'm sorry dear, I didn't get that, what you were saying?"

- "hmm... I"—

-"yes?"

-"nothing me am, I will do my utmost"- she said. On second thought, she didn't want to know what kind of damage Kagome could do to her. Better leave it at that.

-"very well, that's what I was expecting to hear, now follow me; I have a really important task for you."

They resumed their brisk walking around the hospital wing, which wasn't really that big, mind you. The intensive care unit, on the other hand, was very generous. She imagined more people got severely wounded to death than sick. These were soldiers after all, and they did nothing lightly.

On the way to the unit, Kagome explained Rin she would be taking care of a single patient. Rin assumed it could have been worse, so she decided not to comment on the fact that the others had to take care of four patients.

-"here we are"- Kagome said, as she hung the board she was carrying right beside the door.

Rin barely had the chance to draw a breath when the nurse opened the door. Lying on the bed was the most heartbreaking scene she had ever laid eyes on. A man, tall and fit enough to be a magazine model in his late 20's wearing bandages all over the torso, one of his legs hanging from a robe multiple tubes and bars had been placed all around it piercing right through his skin, she could only guess they reached to the bone. Then there was his arm, or the lack thereof, she felt her body tremble at the sight of him. There was something particularly disturbing about the amount of bandages he was wearing, and the soft beep of the machines in the IC unit did nothing to soothe her.

"Miss, don't you think you should have someone a little more qualified looking after him? - she said, still not taking her eyes off the man.

The mayor doesn't need a nurse; he needs a guard- she said, not missing a beat as she placed the medical history and an authorization in her hands- and the name's Higurashi. I'll arrange for your stuff to be brought here. Until then, Call if you need anything- she said at last, not waiting for an answer as she closed the door behind her.

Looking back, Rin thought all this could have been avoided, had she not overslept, had Shippo not made fools of them, had _the_mayor not been wounded... _Who__was__this__guy__anyways?__Everyone__spoke__so__highly__of__him,__he__must__really__be__a__piece__of__work_she thought uneasily.

But no amount of thinking could have prepared her for what was to come.

* * *

><p>-.-<p> 


	4. Chapter 4: caught in the crossfire

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha nor do I take profit from this story.

* * *

><p><strong>Caught in the Crossfire<strong>

She never really believed the army to be a horrible place, the economic accommodation of the camps, the shared showers; even the controlled meals weren't so bad. She had to admit the treatment she had been receiving from sergeant Yamamoto and the rest of the squad didn't exactly made her day, but all in all, she could ignore it. This man, she could not.

The day before she'd been bought to the hospital wing, to learn she would be …_nursing him, _one of the high rank officers on the camp. Back then (it felt so long ago already) she'd thought for a punishment, it wasn't that bad. Apparently, the sergeant knew exactly what he was getting her into. She could imagine his malicious smirk right then.

Her situation so far was a little less than convenient. The person she was supposed to look after, not only hated humans, he was also someone important enough that she couldn't even say anything about it. She looked at the bags under her eyes. _A single night here and he's already made me look like a Zombie- _she shook her head to clear her vision and bent over the sink to wash her face. Immediately she was hit with the too cold water for comfort. Her nerves were on edge and she really didn't know why.

For a moment Rin contemplated staying in the bathroom for the rest of the day, or at least, until _he_ fell asleep, then decided against it. He'd been unconscious for the whole night and even though he'd opened his eyes that morning (to say the whole room stank of human) the extent of his wounds and the amount of morphine they were probably giving him would make him sleep all day long. No need to worry there.

Now in a brighter mood, Rin pulled her hair in a ponytail and brushed her teeth thoughtfully.

When she exited the bathroom she noticed the major was very much asleep and there was a nurse entering the room. She was bringing breakfast for the major, which she did without delay and intent on not staying longer than needed. Rin had to almost chase her out the room to talk to her

-"Umm, excuse me? Meam?" - She blurted clumsily, starling the nurse in the process, only then she noticed she was actually quite young. Her nametag read Ayame, and for a moment Rin thought it was quite informal for someone working in a military hospital to be addressed by the first name.

-"Yes? Who are you?" - She said eyeing her up and down, although Rin didn't miss the way she kept staring at the major's bed.

- "My name is Suzuki Rin, I was brought here yesterday morning, so, I was wondering… do you know when do I get my belongings?"- she said, awkwardly trying not to sound like a fool while asking that

- "Your belongings? I'm not sure, we received a bag this morning on the front door, maybe you'd like to take a look at it?" - she said, already turning her back on her, not leaving her a chance to ask further, the last thing Rin saw were her red pigtails as she rounded the corner.

She cast one last look inside the room to see the major's eyes still closed and decided to go to the front desk to ask for her stuff. She was starting to feel rather dirty, although she didn't know if that was her or it was the memory of the comment she'd received that morning on her smell.

As she walked down the hall, she couldn't help realizing the hospital wing was completely deserted, in fact, she had a feeling she and the two nurses she'd encountered were the only ones at the hospital; no doctors, no janitors no security, no people running around frantically. It only made her even more anxious, but she blamed it on her lack of sleep and the uncomfortable accommodation in the room.

The front desk was, as expected, empty. There was only a very dirty bag over the counter and she prayed silently it wasn't hers. As she neared the bag, she realized it was in fact, her bag. She didn't need to verify the embroiled initials either; there was a very loud bright note on the side of the bag -_Enjoy your stay, Princess- _it read_. _

She instantly got a bad feeling about the note, just before she registered a very foul smell coming from her bag, which was dripping _liquid_ down the counter and into the floor. She did her best not to throw the bag as far away from her as humanly possible- _you're in the army now! Get a hold of yourself!- _She breathed in the nauseating smell and settled to open the bag carefully to see what was inside it, realizing a little too late there were buzzing sounds coming from the inside of it.

This time she did scream and kicked the bag away from her as the maggots and flies poured of off her bag into the floor and her uniform.

She kicked and screamed desperately trying to take them away from her, then somehow in her hysteria, she ran for the showers and opened the water on full blast, effectively removing any clinging maggot and fly away from her. Five minutes into the water, she decided time was coming for her to step up to whatever challenge sergeant Yamamoto was rising against her. Her hair stuck out in weird angles and her uniform clang to her petite form. They would dry, she thought, but then, the boots, were entirely another thing. She couldn't exactly ask for another pair, and judging by the things that came out of her bag, she could only guess most of her clothes were damaged beyond repair.

She turned off the water and prepared to pick up her bag once more. As she neared, carefully this time, she realized the maggots and flies on her were nothing compared to the ones inside the bags, swimming on that brow liquid she now recognized as rotten diluted blood. She picked her bag as best as she could, and carried it to the room. Reasoning there would be enough time to take care of it since the major would not be awake for a while. Reason apparently was not her forte, if she ever thought of getting the bag past the major.

-"Don't even think about it" - she heard him say just as she opened the door to his room. His deep voice filling the entire room even though he'd barely spoken above a whisper.

- "I beg your pardon?" - She asked, not entirely sure she understood what he was talking about- "sir..?"- she added quickly

- "Its bad enough I have to stand your presence, but I will not let you bring rotten flesh into these chambers" - he said, turning his cold predatory _Golden _eyes on her. He quirked a single eyebrow at the state of her uniform but otherwise didn't comment on it. She struggled to concentrate on what he'd said; he had never looked at her before that very moment.

- "What? Rotten flesh?" - she felt like she'd missed an important part of the conversation along the way

He closed his eyes and for a moment and just as suddenly Rin had a feeling something bad was going to happen; the hairs in her arms and the back of her nape raised and the creeping feeling in her gut made her stomach knot in painful waves, she felt fear like no other shaking her body, but she did notice the buzzing sounds coming from her bag intensified and then suddenly died, just as she was beginning to lose control of her limbs. The feeling was gone just as soon as it had come but it left her exhausted.

-"Take a look inside" – he said adverting his eyes to look out the window.

- "I already..." -but it died on her mouth as she opened the bag to realize all the maggots and flies had spontaneously died inside it, leaving enough room to see what had brought them inside in the first place. In the center of the bag laid an arm, a very real flesh-and-bones arm. This time, she couldn't hold it any longer, she ran to the bathroom to vomit.

* * *

><p>He didn't even know what he'd done in his long life to deserve such agony. Granted, most of his life ha hadn't cared about a great many deal of things, besides himself, and it seemed just too ironic that the one time he actually sacrificed for someone else, he was caught in the crossfire.<p>

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he heard the hurling sounds coming from inside the bathroom. Not that he needed to hear, despite his many injuries, his sense of smell had not deterred any. And not for the first time in his life, he wondered if it was a good thing he had it. He could hold his breath for an hour or two, but in his current state that would only delay the healing process.

He growled low in his throat out of frustration. His demonic aura extended beyond it normal reach. He knew that usually made humans feel nervous for no apparent reason, in fact, he had been projecting his aura since the very moment he'd felt another presence in the room and he had felt the girl shake under his power. He'd felt satisfied. Now however, he felt confused. He'd expected his outburst of power to drive her out of the room. Even creatures with their senses as underdeveloped as humans acted on survival instincts if they felt under attack.

He had made sure she understood he didn't appreciate her presence and he could take care of himself.

So, if the logic of it all was so simple, _why was she crying? _

* * *

><p>Rin struggled to breathe as her muffled sobs escaped her hands, tightly pressed to her mouth. She didn't know what made her feel so incredibly anxious about being in the same room with the major, but it was slowly wearing her out. She couldn't control her tears, they just kept pouring out of her eyes without her consent. A new wave of remorse hit her as she remembered the arm still in her bag, as she remembered his cold words "take a look inside" he'd said. Rin had been angered and disgusted by the number the sergeant had pulled on her, but why did it have to be an arm? What did he get from being so blatantly cruel?<p>

She couldn't help the connection her mind had instantly made to the missing limb from the major, and couldn't quite erase the memory of the mutilated flesh. She then remembered she'd run to the bathroom and left her bag opened at the door. _He must really hate me, now._ For some reason, the thought made her feel slightly bitter.

She curled inside herself against her wet, dirty, smeared uniform. _God, what had she gotten herself into?_

* * *

><p>He refused to believe he was pretending for a human. She meant nothing to him; he shouldn't feel sorry for her. In fact, there was really nothing that could make him uncomfortable. He had seen women cry before; he'd been the cause of it as well. He just didn't care for her, so he reasoned he shouldn't go out of his way to make her feel worse, or better for that matter. Satisfied with himself, he turned his back on her, and reminded himself one last time he wasn't pretending to shift in his sleep, but merely facing the window, the clarity and fresh air would be good for his ultimate recovery.<p>

- "Major?" – came the low whisper, so low in fact, had he not been a demon, he would have surely missed it. He had to ponder if she meant to be heard at all- "sir? Are you awake?" - She asked just as low. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her shyness. He still couldn't believe she'd been appointed to take care of him. Still, he didn't say anything, he didn't even move.

- "Must be asleep, I guess" - he heard as she let out her breath in relief. No sooner had she done that however, the door came open and Kagome Higurashi, the head nurse, walked in the room. She jumped nervously as she distanced herself from him.

- "Good morning" - she said shortly while she neared his bed, replacing the IV's and putting a new set of bags carrying transparent liquid on the inside. It was almost noon by then but the cold in the room was making it nearly impossible for her to stop shivering, let alone sit still with a half- wet uniform still on.

- "Good morning. Excuse me…Miss Higurashi, there's been a problem with my belongings"- she said.

- "A Problem?" - she said, still not facing the private, but checking for his vital signs and making quick notes on a notepad she carried- "what do you mean? They sent it this morning, I saw to it myself" -she paused for a moment to sniff the air- "well damn if it doesn't smell like shit here"- she made a quick note, and then finally took a look at her for the first time- "you…"- she coughed- "I take it you didn't fall on Kouga's good graces"

- "Who?"

- "It doesn't matter" - she waved her hand in front of her, although Rin didn't know if she was waving her off or trying to clear the foul smell coming from her, she coughed again- "I'll…see what I can do"- No sooner had she finished her sentence when Rin began to feel uncomfortable again, the constant chill up her spine was increasing by the second. The nurse seemed equally as uncomfortable all of a sudden as she picked the rest of the stuff quickly and left the room in a rush- "yes… I'll see what I can do" - she repeated to wondered if the nurse felt it too, the feeling had been creeping upon her all morning, there had to be something wrong in that room.

When she turned halfway and froze when she was met by a pair of very awake golden eyes.

- "Major…" - she cleared her throat when her voice came in nothing but a whisper- "are you feeling well?" - she asked a little more confident this time

- "Are you leaving anytime soon?"

- "No, I don't think so"

He huffed in a very petulant way- "Then you already know the answer, don't you private?" -

- "Can we drop the formalities for a bit? I'm not feeling very well today" -

- "Have you been promoted 10 ranks overnight?"

she tilted her head to the side "er...No"

- "Then no…you will address me as your superior"

- "Well, can I get you anything? Maybe you'd like to take a look outsi" -

- "I get a feeling you rather like this pointless chatter, I do not" - he cut her coldly.

She ignored his comment and instead leaned on her elbows by the bedside table- "It isn't pointless, sir; one can always get to know people from the way they speak, I' m trying to get to know you, if you'd let me" - she smiled broadly even though her declaration earned her a scowl on his part

- "You're wasting your time private, and frankly I don't take very well to such insolence."

- "I don't mean to intrude in your personal life sir; I was merely offering you a chance to be better acquaintances."

At her curt retort he was left with no choice but to acknowledge her silently- "Why are you even here?" - He asked finally

They both turned to the door as Ayame came in quickly and nearly shoved the food tray on the bedside table Rin was occupying before rushing out of the room. The interruption seemed to break the small truce they had managed for the moment and she only blinked slowly trying to remember what he'd asked.

-"It's…"- she sighed defeated- "complicated"- she walked away from the bed, convinced that would somehow save her the explanations - "you should not trouble yourself thinking of that, sir."

- "Why should I not? You're invading my personal space and it seems I have to endure your presence until my legs stop the regeneration process"- he nearly growled.

She ignored his cold tone_- Regenerating? So that explains unnatural features- _she eyed the striped wrist resting on his side_- I've never seen demons with those markings though, he must be some kind of noble_

- "I… was careless on my first two days of training; although I don't know why Sergeant Yamamoto saw fit that I came here to…" -she coughed- "to take care of you…sir"- she finished quietly.

She instantly knew she'd made a mistake; as surely as his eyes narrowed to thin slits and his lips formed a thin line, she knew she'd stepped out of line.

She rushed to the nearest desk and tried to put distance between them, tripping twice on her slippery boots, she could literally _feel _the air pressing all around her.

She raised her eyes only to register a small significant change in the room; the tray Ayame had just left by the bed was empty, which only made sense once she realized its contents were slowly coming at her. She saw everything flying from his hands to her head. No, not her head, to the side of her head. On a reflex, she tried to duck, to the wrong side as he swung his plate so hard, she was sure if he had purposely aimed at her head, he would have left her unconscious. She swallowed audibly, but refused to be scared off by this man, she was tired of being bullied by the sergeant and the rest of the squad. So it was with no little amount of fear she finally decided she had had enough.

- "What the hell is wrong with you? That was perfectly decent food!" she yelled balling her fist tightly, as she regarded the spilled beans, salad and chicken all over the floor. She hadn't had a thing to eat since the day before; even then, a small coffee had been a pathetic choice for dinner.

- "I will not stand for this foolishness"- he roared

- "What foolishness? I was just trying to be polite, that's no reason to waste your food like that!"

- "I don't want it, not the food, nor your attention, and certainly not your yelling. It's giving me a headache"- he said, turning his head to face the window as he rearranged himself in the small bed. He was so tall his feet dangled from the edge of the mattress. She imagined he was probably upset about that and the fact that his hospital gown was as far from comfortable as he was to talking to her.

She signed awkwardly, trying to the best of her efforts not to pay attention to the disgusting felling of food trailing down the sides of her face.

- "Listen Major, I don't want to be here either, but since neither of us have a choice, you could at least try to be civil." She said defeated; much of the purpose was lost to the fact that she looked like a walking buffet.

- "Civility…such _human_ concept. I could just ignore you"

She was building up the anger inside of her and she felt her chest tighten with the distinct blinding fury that was only reserved for people she hated, and Rin really didn't think she had ever hated anyone enough in her entire life. Not even the sergeant was worth her hate. She started to breathe slowly, trying to remember all the reasons she was there in the first place, she decided she needed to change tactics, and no one knew how to do that better than she.

And so it was that against her best hopes she put on her best smile- "My name is Rin. I'm Suzuki Rin, at your service, sir. It is an honor to be your acquainted" - she held out her hand for him to shake and at the cold look she got, she decided a reverence was just as good as a handshake. She didn't want to push him further. But she would not back off either. If he wanted to scare her off, she would do her best to make sure nothing kept her from him.

* * *

><p>-.-<p>

_**A/N: well, this took a while to edit, I would like to thank each and everyone of you for reviewing, making my story your favorite, adding it to your alerts... you make my day and this story, hope you like it, I'm dedicating it to you.**_

_**Let me know what yoou think :)**_


	5. Chapter 5: pity

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

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><p><strong>Pity<strong>

He didn't like it when people ignored him, furthermore, he hated when people took his threats for a joke. Little times had he lost his patience in front of anyone in the army, but he couldn't help himself when she refused to yield to his expectations. He liked to be in control, and if his ego demanded she left the room for good, that was what he would do. He would make her leave.

- "you still stink, your uniform is an insult to the army and you are still a unsuspecting ignorant human child playing private to one of the most respectable organizations you'll ever be a part of"- he turned his eyes when he felt her presence near him, prepared to shot some other spiteful comment, but he wasn't prepared for the murderous glance that greeted him.

- "You're still an asshole, but I can't leave nor wash my uniform, unless you're ready to see me naked _sir"- _he had never seen such angry expression directed at him, let alone from someone so small. She neared her face to his in what she must have surely thought was an intimidating fashion, but he met her gaze just as firmly.

-"I would, but I don't want to be accused of child molesting".

-"you won't scare me away major"- she leaned close enough to his face he could feel her breath on his mouth- "I have infinite patience and a good motivation, so I suggest you start investing your time in getting yourself put back together"- she paused to gauge his reaction, then continued a little more lightly- "or else you just might end up being stuck with me longer than either of us would like".

By the time he finished processing everything she had said, she leaned over and kissed him. A sloppy, too warm and too careless kiss to be considered anything close to pleasant. He was, nevertheless, shocked. No one had ever thrown him off like that before; no one had ever dared and he was temporarily blinded with fury that she thought herself above that. He made to push her off him and was possessed by the sudden impulse to bite her lips; that was, of course, before she collapsed over his good arm, no doubt exhausted beyond her limits, before dropping to the floor unceremoniously, and before he realized she had never actually intended to _kiss _him, rather, she had fainted on him. He was going to have to punish Kouga later.

* * *

><p>That evening, she woke up feeling distinctly cold and sweaty, her back muscles were killing her, and what was worse; she had fallen asleep in her two-day-uniform, now she would have to iron it <em>again<em> for the next day. She sighed tiredly, rubbing the bean sauce out of her cheek.

_Wait, bean sauce? - _Then it all came back to her, the punishment, the argument, her predicament, and the sound of a faraway snort- "don't you have anything better to do?"- She asked, still not moving from the floor. She just knew _he_ would be watching her. Mocking her.

"there is not much to do in this poor excuse of hospital room, you, however, should mind your place human, not only am I your superior, I am also a lot more dangerous and strong than any of your race. "

"Of course, _sir _how could I ever be so foolish as to imply you and I were on the same page?"- she said finally rising from the floor where he had left her, she noticed however, his food had already been cleaned, and she felt the anger bubbling in the pit of her stomach when she thought that whoever had done that, didn't care enough to take her out of the way. She would have to do laundry before the next day, or else she would be punished further, even then, she wondered if there really was something worse than having to play nurse to the cranky major. She shuddered at the thought of it –_ better not to find out._

"You haven't eaten"- he said simply. It was not a question, and he was not facing her, so she wondered briefly how he knew, but pretended not to have heard what he said, focusing instead on trying to wipe the smell of food from her uniform. Chicken, she found, was the hardest to remove, although not as messy as the beans. Luckily for her (or not) the salad had landed on her hair, so there was little to be found on her already ruined uniform. As he began to growl she realized he was expecting an answer.

"No sir, I have not eaten"- she said, not bothering to keep eye contact with him, instead she went to the bathroom to attempt to remove the stains from the food. From what she had heard, the laundry service was a little far from the dorms, and she had a feeling going there would only land her more trouble than it was worth.

When she returned to the bedroom, she realized there was a hospital tray on the visitor's seat, though that one in particular was burned on both sides, like it had been eaten away by some kind of acid. She lifted the lid and the smell of lasagna assaulted her senses. She heard her stomach rumble in anticipation, but refused to let herself be swept away be the wonderful aromas coming from the tray. It was obviously there for the major, not her.

"Major your foo…"- she realized he was asleep-"…d has arrived"- she added as an undertone- she left it on the side wondering what to do herself. Earlier in the day, she had made her way to the cafeteria, only to run back to the room before she could have anything when she realized one her squad comrades was keeping post on the entry, _no doubt to make sure she didn't leave the room._

She suppressed a sigh as her stomach rumbled once more, blushing furiously when the major shifted on the bed due to the noise it was making. She tried for a full hour to keep her hunger at bay, but she was starting to feel light headed again, she looked sideways to the tray lying in her seat and almost laughed at the irony of it. It seemed like it was mocking her, but she refused to let herself fall for it. If she ate the food, she would have to face the consequences later. Three more hours passed and Rin was beginning to wonder if this was some kind of test. The major hadn't moved from his position in the bed. _Not even a muscle_ she mused quietly. He was unnaturally still in a way that didn't make her feel comfortable in his presence, even if he was asleep. This time her stomach gave a painful twist and she felt both the void of fear and hunger fighting for control inside of her. She felt a wave of nausea hit her at once, doubling her head between her knees. She threw all caution out the window and lifted the lid of the lasagna once more, throwing one last look at the major before taking the first bite.

* * *

><p>Rin knew the bad news would just keep coming when Shippo walked in the hospital that afternoon. He looked quite miserable, tired and worn, like he had spent a week rummaging around garbage with the same uniform. She passed by a mirror and realized that's what she must have looked like as well. No one seemed to pay her any attention though, or rather, no one seemed to be in the hospital. It was still as deserted as she'd found it in the morning.<p>

Shippo looked like he was hiding from someone, and by the time she got to the place he'd occupied mere seconds before, he had vanished, and the only thing left was a small box and a crumbled paper by its side. The note simply read:

_I'm sorry about your bag, I thought you might need this_

_SK._

Rin put the note inside her pocket and opened the box cautiously, just in case, but was rewarded with a neatly folded uniform. Two sizes too big for her, but still it was better than nothing. It was probably one of Shippo's own uniforms and she couldn't help the way her face instantly brightened at the though.

On her way back, she snuck some detergent from the janitor's closet to wash her own uniform, she whistled all the way to the major's room marveling in the quiet of the hospital, she'd ask nurse Higurashi about that later.

* * *

><p>It was already eight o'clock in the night when he heard the news; the Special Forces were recruiting new soldiers. In the amount of years (although not many) Jaken had been in the army, he had learned there were only two things people knew about the Special Forces: first, they were the elite group of the army, as only the most apt and capable soldiers formed it. The second fact, although less known was that the major, Sesshoumaru Sato, was an indispensable part of it, he was the core of the small unit and its most important member, he was also the highest ranking officer amongst the six that conformed it, and by default, its leader.<p>

Jaken knew for a fact all six members had been sent to the mission which ended in a disastrous injury on the major, but he did not know the details, he had a suspicion it was concerned with the rebels, their trademark bombs were hard to miss, or at least, they should be, for a lesser demon or any average human. The major however, was not any demon, and his senses were overdeveloped to say the least. He knew he was able to see it coming, and the rest of the unit did not leave unharmed, but it also didn't suffer from any major injuries, he had seen the soldiers himself. He knew what this meant, but he didn't want to act in case this was all a big misunderstanding. Surely, the high ranks weren't thinking of replacing Sesshoumaru-sama.

* * *

><p>The rest of the evening, Rin found time to wash her uniform and change into something more comfortable, there was little Kagome could do in respects to her clothes, but at least she found her a sleeveless white cotton shirt, and some new underwear. She almost felt embarrassed someone had to do that for her, but then, she felt relieved it had been she, and not other private, bringing her intimate items of her clothes.<p>

The major didn't comment on her choice of dress any further than a rude "hnmp" and she took her time to practice on her yoga to take her mind off the fact that she wanted to KILL him. All in all, she still didn't know what the name of the major was, although she had an idea of what it could be. Surely Satan would fit him. She almost laughed at the thought, but didn't want to wake him. Instead, she made a side-note on the book she had borrowed from Kagome, as she had come to know the nurse by then.

It was finally time to sleep and she arranged the thin layers of sheets over the mattress and over her form, pausing only to fluff the poor excuse of a pillow the hospital provided as she succumbed to the arms of slumber.

She was dreaming of a highland paradise, filled with wild flowers and oddly, the smell of cinnamon. She ran to the top of the hill, wondering what laid up ahead, instead finding every last bit of land had been consumed by some sort of acid, the decayed flowers made a pool of putrid water at her feet, and soon she was running back down the hill, throwing her weight in the only direction that mattered: away.

As she ran, she felt, rather than heard the buzzing sounds at her back. In her mind, she could imagine bees coming her way (although she was sure she hadn't stolen their honey), she thought to run faster, but her legs began to give way, she stumbled, once, twice, and finally fell. She rolled down the hill, and finally landed on a sprawled on the green carpet. Only then, she came to the realization there was nothing actually chasing her. So far, all she could see was a rather dark cloud on the horizon, which, she reasoned, being the time of the year was not unexpected. To her left, the grass grew rather green and there was nothing else in that place but her. The sky turned white, so white, it almost blinded her, all she could see was white, and the green grass she currently laid on. She closed her eyes, exhausted beyond relieve, and wondered what it was like to be blind; to be like her father, she thought. Just as she finished the though she saw a mot in the distance, slowly materializing and growing bigger, clearer by the second. She couldn't see his face, but she knew, even then, it was her father. He carried something in his hand. A long white object she could only think associate with a baseball bat.

As he neared, she stood up and ran to him. Her father smiled, although his head remained faceless, but she knew. And as she neared him, She saw him grow farther, and farther away from her, his expression became gaunt, tortured, and she finally made form of what he was carrying. She ran faster, trying to get to him, even as he grew farther still.

Her fear spiked and increased tenfold, for she could no longer make the shape of him, only the white object he carried. She forced her legs to drag her, but knew without looking she wasn't moving from her spot, she had never moved, rather, the landscape had moved away from her. She cried and screamed, trying with all her might to move, trying with all her might to get him to listen to her, to get him to understand, he had to drop the arm.

But her voice was not hers; it was muffled, coming out in a whisper, even though she screamed in her mind. Her tears ran freely around her, mixing with the burnt grass beneath her feet, making them just as putrid as the flowers up the hill. The buzzing sounds drowned her cries, rotted her to the ground, and made her helpless.

She struggled to free herself of the invisible strings that held her to the spot, but couldn't. She cried as she laid witness to the way the black cloud over her slowly marched to the disfigured form that was her father, eating him up completely, bits by bits, enveloping him completely, and then , all that was left, was black.

Someone called from the distance, the buzzing died, and then, she woke up, sweating, crying, and to her dismay, still kicking whoever had woke her up.

-"get off me!"

The arms tightened around her, taking her deeper into the covers, making her every attempt to free herself futile- calm down, girl-

"No! Let me…!"- She tried to breathe but came up short- "he… he... they're going to...they're…they're going to take him… alive"-she finished quietly, for the first time looking at her surroundings- _I'm safe- _she thought, which meant, so was he. _He was safe as well, her father was safe. _She took in the dark of the room, the quiet breeze seeping through the open window. And then her eyes landed of the empty bed, felt the weight holding her down and then she understood.

A sudden feeling of shame filled her completely; her blood left her body in a rush and then came back just as quickly, just as intense. She blushed furiously- I'm ok now, sir.

"I can see that"- he responded quietly- she wondered how he could project his voice to be so low and clear at the same time.

He moved to stand up, but his restrained legs were still in the Ilizarov support and he collapsed beside her bed.

"Major! "- She rushed to his aid, as best as she could, still trapped between the sheets. She then realized it must have taken a lot of him to get out of the bed, tired and wounded as he was, and it made nothing to make her feel better, her dream suddenly felt insignificant and childish beside his much bigger problems.

"I don't need your help"- he growled. Her hands froze in the air, undecided on whether to help him or leave him for rejecting her help. She decided to ignore him.

"Yes, I can see that"- she responded, remembering the words he had used not 10 seconds before.

He narrowed his eyes in the dim light of the night, but didn't say anything. He knew he couldn't move on his own.

That was how 20 minutes and two painful falls later, he found himself over the bed again, his drowsiness had left him spent, but it was all worth it as he finally got her to quiet down, he really couldn't sleep with her trashing all night long and screaming in her sleep. He watched quietly as she ran to the bathroom to clean her face and splash some water on it, wondering briefly who was so important in her life she called out to him. He shifted angrily in the small bed, ignoring the pain in his legs as the Ilizarov support got stuck on the bed sheets she didn't know how to fix. He would not ask for help _it doesn't matter- _he told himself. If there was one thing he hated more than being ignored, it was being as he closed his eyes and turned his back to her, he realized, he did pity her.

There was barely any sound in the small room when she came back. She didn't know what to say, or if he wanted to hear it. It seemed improper to even lay in his presence.

-"Why is it…you don't you call me by my given name?"- He said, barely turning his head to look at her from the corner of his eye.

- "What do you mean sir? I… I will not presume to address you disrespectfully"- she said, trying to keep her voice from quivering

- "It wasn't my arm you saw in that bag, but it was my name engraved on it, if you're trying to be civil you might as well call me by it".

She froze midway to the bed, nodding quietly as her hair fell on her eyes to cover what little was left of her pride. Rin sighed; if she was going to do this, she had to commit –"…Very well…Sesshoumaru-sama".

* * *

><p>-.-<p>

A/N: I know many of you have been getting confused over what happened to Sesshoumaru, I hope this chapter clears some of those doubts, the rest shall be revealed later. As usual, please let me know what you think :)


	6. Chapter 6: exceptional people

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

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><p><strong>Exceptional people<strong>

He had of course heard stories about the other majors in the army; not that he really wanted to have anything to do with any of them, he was after all, a low rank in the food-chain and officers often took it the wrong way when people went snooping around behind their backs. This major in particular, had gotten Inuyasha, (Major Sato's half-brother), out of the army. What he knew of the case was of course speculative as Sesshoumaru-sama himself did not appreciate any comment which included the word Inuyasha and the case was pretty much classified; only the higher ranks knew about the expulsion, but everyone seemed to attribute it to the hybrid's Rash nature and his propensity to backtalk to his superiors.

As far as he knew, the case was taken to court martial and after two or three weeks of deliberating, it was decided Inuyasha was to leave the army for good, there had been some serious accusations, but overall, Kikyo remained in the army without so much of a fuss. The only evidence that remained of such event was the fact that, even with her merits, she spent her days in the army inside an office.

To some, it might have seemed as a prove of gratitude from the army to her; but the truth was, the only reason she no longer attended field missions was because she was considered a liability, if anything, the army only entrusted her with the theoretical details of the operations being held at that moment, except those of the Green Beret's, or as it was officially called, the Special Forces.

Jaken gathered his bearings, smoothing the invisible lines over his ridiculously ironed uniform, and cleared his throat before knocking.

-"Come in"- came the response from the other side, barely audible and as monotone as someone could possibly manage. He guessed for a woman officer in the army, there was not much else to be expected.

He opened the door quietly and peeked inside the neatly organized office; everything in there was either carved in light wood or made out of steel. It was meant to be feminine, he imagined, but it only came across as intimidating. He cleared his throat again, wondering what had brought him to that place to begin with- "good morning, Kikyo-Sama"-

-"Good morning"- she deadpanned, not lifting her eyes from the papers in front of her; she evidently worked hard, he noted, as she removed a set of back brimmed elegant glasses from the bridge of her nose. She looked like she had been on those papers for quite some time, although he was pretty sure it was only 08:00 in the morning.

-"Is there a particular reason for you being here soldier? Or you just enjoy wasting people's time?" - She locked her eyes on him, and for a moment he wished she would go back to her papers. Her gaze was disturbingly penetrating, and he had a rather nervous bladder.

-"Ehh...I-I- I came for…yes, that is to say, I was wondering…"

-"Get to the point…"

-"Kikyo-sama, there are some rumors going around the camp; some rumors concerning _him_…would you happen to know anything about it?"- he asked, trying and failing to keep the quiver out of his voice; the time he had spent in the company of the major had obviously not prepared him to stand in front of that woman.

-"I do not know what you are talking about soldier, I suggest you clear it up as soon as possible, it would seem to me as though you want me to reveal classified information to you, but I'm sure that's not the case, is it? That would imply going against the rules, and as you know, this organization is not known for breaking the rules, whatever the reasons".

-"I-I-ah-I know that, me am, I'm only concerned with the current status on the major, because of the open post in the Special Forces".

-"I know what you were asking for, but do not presume to think yourself above the system, _soldier_, if anything, this could mean Sesshoumaru-sama could be promoted to a more…quiet post".

He shrieked noticeably and hoped to God the major would not be transferred; he could only imagine the pain that would surely befall him if Sesshoumaru were to leave the Special Forces. He knew, more than anyone, how hard Sesshoumaru-sama had pushed himself to please his father; so far, he was the youngest major in the story of the army and he_ liked _to be a part of the small unit. The rest of it was pretty much a bunch of lower-ranked officers and sometimes, when things went badly, they rotated members. Since the major had been at the head of it, however, there had only been one accident, and that was the one leading them to their current predicament.

The woman in front of him smiled coldly- "what's wrong soldier? Are you not willing to pass the news to him?"

- "You have neither confirmed nor denied it me am"- he couldn't look at her, she wanted to break him, so instead he pretended to contemplate the intricate design of her white carpet

-"You seemed content on my acknowledgement of the rumors just a while ago"

-"Yes, about that… I would rather not be at the end of his wrath"-

She laughed wholeheartedly and Jaken wished, not for the first time, the doors would be sound prove, he knew even as he closed it behind him, the sound of that particular laugh would carry him down the hall.

* * *

><p>She woke up to the sound of shifting, more like, to the moaning of the hospital bed, as the major tried to accommodate the length of his body inside of it. He was obviously too tall for it. She cracked an eye open, for the first time in- 7 hours- she confirmed as she checked her watch. She mused, if things improved, she would be back to her usual 9 hours of sleep in no time.<p>

For some reason, that morning she felt unexplainably happy, she looked at the bundle of sheets that was the major, but decided instead to blame it on the fact that she had finally gotten something clean to sleep in (and a good meal). She would have to thank Shippo later, maybe get some food together, and she wouldn't have to feel guilty for eating the major's food.

The bed moaned again as the spirals moved to accommodate the restless officer S_esshoumaru-sama_- she remembered. She took a moment to fix her clothes under the sheets before she stood up from the couch/bed and headed to the bathroom. She did feel a little self-conscious bearing a bed-head in front of him. She quickly did her cleaning routine and took a quick shower before brushing her long black tresses to resemble something aching to order. It was useless though, it wasn't fair, she thought, that he didn't have to do a thing for his hair to look perfect; in all the time she had been there, never once had she seen him go to the bathroom, brush his teeth, take a shower, _not even eat- _she blushed at her thoughts, willing herself not to imagine him taking a shower; her imagination tended to get ahead of her sometimes, and she wasn't blind to the fact that the major was rather handsome.

He was always clean, shaved and alert, she had never once caught him out of order and she secretly envied his ability to look so damn perfect even as he laid on a bed half bandaged with a severed arm and an Ilizarov support on his leg. She smiled sadly at the mirror, and for the first time in three days, she didn't look like a zombie. She surrendered to her hair and decided it was time she left the bathroom, there was really no way she could pretend to get decent for more than an hour. She tried to relax her already tense muscles and flexed her hands by her sides. _Now or never Rin_

-"Good morning, Sesshoumaru-sama. How are you feeling today?"

-"Hmm..."-

-"Come on major, I thought we were trying to be civil…"

-"Like I ran into a mine, thank you"- he shifted some more

-"Are you ok? You look... well... uncomfortable"- she walked nearer ignoring his noncommittal 'hn' to stand by him. Then she noticed the maroon spots on the otherwise white sheets. She went to lift them before he could say anything about it. She obviously didn't know she was invading his personal space.

-"Major, what…? Oh my god!"-

-"Not god, I'm a demon, girl"

-"This is serious! Your wounds! This isn't supposed to happen"- she gestured wildly to his bloodied leg. Sometime in the night his support had been caught in the tangle of sheets, and as a result, the metal bars stuck deeper into his legs, reopening his wounds and tainting the bandages and the sheets with blood. She was careful to put the sheets over the bed and not back over his legs- I'll go get Kagome…

-"No!"- he said, before he lashed out and grabbed her forearm in a vice-like grip

-"W-w-what?" - She looked at him disbelievingly. He seemed to consider something for a moment before letting go of her- "what do you mean 'no'? Why not?"

-"I don't want her messing with my recovery"- he said bitterly

-"She's the head nurse!"

-"I don't care. That woman is an untrained priestess. She comes near me, my aura is going to inevitably call out to her"- he took in a breath of air- "I'd rather not be purified".

Rin then realized she had been resting her hand on his leg and quickly took it back, although she did notice the short intake of air as she brushed the tips of her fingers over his exposed wounds, he was obviously too proud to say anything about it.

-"Ok, so what are you going to do? This doesn't look exactly normal major. If you stay like this your wounds are going to get infected, even with the antibiotics"- she insisted

-"Don't be foolish"

-"I beg your pardon?"

-"I don't need antibiotics"- she took a moment to process that

-"Still, Sesshoumaru-sama, painkillers can only do so much, the only reason you can't"-

-"Painkillers? Who told you they were giving me painkillers?"

-"Well…surely"-

-"My aura process everything in my body a thousand times faster than any demon or human alive, therefore, painkillers don't work on me, I metabolize them too quick for them to take effect. Not even morphine can do a thing to me"

-"That's impossible... not even you can take so much pain"

-"You are clearly an ignorant"

-"Then tell me, sir, what is that hanging in the racks?"- she said pointing to the clear liquid in the bad above their heads

-"That is poison, to keep my aura from snapping"

-"W-what?"-

-"My…bloodline comes from a very ancient and powerful clan of demons; last time they had someone like me in a hospital, the whole block was erased from the face of earth"

She swallowed audibly- "w-what? Y-you- they never told me something like that could happen"- she took a step back, then two more, until she could go no further away from him

-"If I wanted you dead, girl, I would have killed you already"

-"Gee, thanks, major"- then she flashed him her best grin and there was nothing he could really say to respond to that. Instead, he turned his back on her making the knots in her stomach turn when she got a glimpse of the bars getting further into his skin than they already were, like he felt no pain.

-"Don't move! Please! You're making it worse, it's…"- she struggled to find the words- "it's not ok for you to be like this, sir. Please let me call the nurse"- she begged

-"I don't like to repeat myself, _Rin"- _she shivered slightly as she heard her name rolling off his tongue

-"Well, then…what- what are we going to do?"

-"Since you're so eager to help, why don't _you_ fix it?" - He said, trying to get his legs on a more comfortable position. It seemed that would not be happening anytime soon.

-"Me? Why would you want me to do it? What if I mess up?"

-"Then you'll have to watch me through it"- he fixed her in a stare long enough to make her uncomfortable, although she was a little used to that by then-"what is it going to be then, private?"

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, as she sneaked a quick glance at his legs. They looked a step away from getting infected; she knew if she didn't do it he was going to have complications. Her eyes landed on his left arm- or lack thereof, and that was all the motivation she needed.

-"Alright, I'll do it, but I need you to tell me if it hurts too much major". _I can't really stand the sight of blood_ -"Is that ok?" - She said instead.

-"Do I have any other choice"- he lifted his eyebrow daring her to contradict him

She was about to reply, but the serious look on his face made her doubt the sanity of doing that- "I'll be right back"- she replied.

Walking as fast as she could down the empty corridors she came to the realization; it was because of _him_. The entire hospital wing was deserted because he was staying there. She shuddered as she remembered what he had so casually said about his aura. _Better get him out of his suffering before he snaps._

She ran into the supplies cabinet in the nurse's staff room and took a package full of gauzes, iodine and a bottle of alcohol, swallowing the lump already forming in her throat as she remembered he could not metabolize pain-killers. It was going to sting, and she would have to suck it up and make him suffer even more to make sure his legs healed correctly.

She went through some boxes on the left, figuring she needed sterilized gloves and a few cotton balls.

She ran back to the room, not wanting to be caught by Kagome, in case she decided she wanted to help. The major had made it perfectly clear he didn't want her interfering in her recovery. Now she understood why the head-nurse had only visited when he was either asleep or unconscious.

-"I'm back"- she said, quickly closing the door behind her.

-"I can see that"- he gave her a pointed look, and she had to remind herself that was just the way he spoke, he was by no means trying to intimidate her _or seduce her, for that matter. _

-"Sir, I'm going to need you to take the sheet away from your legs"-she said, reasoning it was best for him to do it himself, so they could get over the awkward part quickly enough

He made to stand from the bed, but he was still not used to the unbalance in his body since his arm was no longer there. She rushed to help him, offering her arm as support, before she extended it to help him up by his shoulders. She let out a small sigh of relief as she realized she had been just about to touch the length of his _other _arm, the one that had been cut a little over the elbow.

He took her help without saying a word, and she didn't call him on it either, it was uncomfortable enough for the both of them.

-"You can release me now"- he said as he let go of the sheets and let them fall to the floor. She took a minute to assess the damage he had done during the night and had to bite her lip to keep herself from crying.

She let him go and placed him gently against the headboard of the small bed. Then she handed him the alcohol wordlessly and started to put the gloves on. She took a deep breath as she put the cotton ball into the iodine and began the process of cleaning his wounds, trying her best to do exactly as she had been instructed that one time she had volunteered to learn first aid procedures.

He watched her thoughtfully the entire time, not quite understanding how he found himself in such predicament, let alone be tended by the barely adult private.

_Rin _he remembered. She had told him her name was Rin, but of course, he already knew that; it had been he who had signed the papers to allow her into the army, regardless of the obvious difficulties she would be facing, the least of them being the fact that she was one of the few women at the camp. In his years of service he had only encountered so many women who were interested in the military life, although the few that did were admirable, He could count them in one single hand. _Kikyo, Sango, Higurashi, Sara and _her. The girl who stood now in front of him was by no means a woman, she was barely of age, and she looked way to innocent for her own good. She would soon be jaded and corrupted just like the rest of them. He didn't know why, when she scrunched her brows together in concentration he wished she didn't have to be like the rest of them. He wished she could stay untouched. She had put up with the worst treatment from him, from her squad, and her life was probably not as easy as she let on. He had been there the night she had cried and screamed in her sleep. There was someone in her life she was leaving behind to be there. And yet, here she was, tending to his wounds like the most dedicated altruist. He had to give it to her; she was truly exceptional.

She finished rubbing the brown liquid all over his legs and then proceeded to do the same with the alcohol. She tightened her jaw in anticipation as she knew it would sting, but he didn't say a word. That was the most quiet he had been in all her stay, and he usually didn't speak, so that was a lot of quiet for her comfort. She sneaked a glance and nearly dropped the cotton bud as she caught him staring at her intently. She had to turn back quickly under the weight of his stare, but could nevertheless feel his eyes on her the entire time. She tried to control the shaking of her hands. To her credit, she only dropped the ball twice.

-"Finished"- she announced quietly, then she looked back at the bars; they weren't supposed to be so deep into his legs, but she didn't know exactly what he expected her to do about it.

-"Are you not going to remove them?" – he asked flippantly

-"Major, I'm not sure…"

-"You said it yourself, they will get infected, and my bones have already healed you have to take them out"- he replied calmly, as if he wasn't just asking her to cause him an intense pain just so he could sleep better.

-"So… what do you propose I do? I can't exactly take them out one by one, sir"

-"You can and you will. That is an order"- he bored his eyes on hers and she felt a chill going up her spine, much the same way she had felt them the first two days of her miserable stay

-"But sir…"

-"No buts private. You will do it, or you will face the consequences for your insubordination"- he flashed a self satisfied smile at her distress. But just as she turned again it was gone. She wasn't sure she had seen it at all

-"What's up with everyone being such cruel hearted bastards?" - She muttered under her breath, forgetting for a moment he could still hear her due to his overdeveloped senses.

-"I'm waiting Rin"- he muttered in that cold, deep, low quality of his voice she often found disconcerting

-"You will have to instruct me on how to take the out sir"- she replied after a moment of silence

He leaned forward in the bed trying not to put too much weight into his already injured ribs, although they were clearly healing much faster than his legs. She took a step back from the bed as he reached with his right hand to his leg, rolling the nuts to the closest bar before he unceremoniously pulled the bar out of his leg. The monitor system went wild for around ten seconds and she pressed her hands to her mouth to keep herself from screaming, but the sharp intake of air she gave was more than enough as he turned his eyes on her once more, holding the bar in his hand.

-"That's how you do it"- then he fell back in the bed before letting the bar drop to the floor with a loud clang that resonated for an entire three seconds. _He couldn't expect her to do that _she shook her head in denial

-"You will do it, private"- he repeated sensing her doubts as if he could read her mind. Before she could say anything he grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to the bed- "either you do it, or I will. And I have to warn you, two of my ribs were broken as well and my balance is not as good with an arm less"- he knew he had convinced her there, but as she didn't move he started to sit up once more

-"No! Please, don't do that"- She bit her lips- "I will do it"- she took a step closer and proceeded then to unroll the screws and take the rings from each bar the same way he had done before. She let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding up until that moment as she realized there was no way to put it off any longer; they both knew there were no rings left. She had to take the bars out

-"Would you like me to"-

-"No"- he cut her before she could offer some other ridiculous form of comfort.

-"You can hold my hand if you want"- she offered quietly, before she lifted his right leg off the mattress and started slowly taking out the bar- he hissed by her side, and she did her best to remind herself this had been the same man who had harassed her for the last week and tried not to feel sorry for him.

In the background the monitoring system went on high-wire once again as she struggled to keep the bar from harming his more than it already had. She bit her lips and clenched her jaw _just a little further _she thought, before she realized the last part was the hardest to take out, and so the gripped It hard trying to decide what to do about it

-"Don't hesitate, otherwise you only prolong the pain"- he scolded. Usually, there were tools designed for the doctors to take the external fixators, but he refused any other form of help, and he was stubborn enough not to go back on his word. He was going to have it all removed, whether she liked it or not.

She breathed in as she pulled hard on the bar and nearly fell back when she realized the wounds started to bleed again.

-"I can't! I'm sorry major, I can't!" - She backed up from the bed, only to be pulled back in as he held tightly on her, this time, he took her hand.

-"Go on, I haven't authorized you to stop" - he reminded her coldly

She took a minute to calm her nerves and her shaking hands before she started to pull on the second bar. She prayed to god it would be over soon, but it seemed each one of them was harder to get out, and she had to often stop as she realized her shaking hands were making his wounds worse. Eventually, he did hold one of her arms and tightened his grip on her when the metal abomination got stuck in his flesh. Almost half an hour had passed and Rin now held the last of the bars, she could barely see what she was doing as the tears fell freely from her eyes, sliding past her cheeks and into her clothes. He wouldn't let her go anywhere, and she didn't want to prolong what was going to happen inevitably.

This is the last one major- she informed his as clearly as she could manage around the knot in her throat- she took her time taking it out of his bruised leg and then breathed in relief as the monitoring screens went back to normal. She walked to the bathroom, and he let her, deciding she needed a moment to compose herself.

His breathing was still a little raged from the exhaustion but all in all, he did feel better. She came back two minutes after that, her face had been wiped clean, but it was pretty obvious she had been crying, her red nose, swollen eyes and lips spoke volumes.

She then took the time to clean his wounds again before dressing them gently in the soft gauze she had stolen from the nurse station. He watched her the entire time. Her dedication and determination still astounded him. _Exceptional, indeed._

* * *

><p>-.-<p>

**A_/N:_**_ so.. I decided to update this one first because I'm feeling in a bloody dark mood lately (vampire diaries and all) XD _

_My special gratitude to icegirljenni, divinerose91, icecreamapparition and taraah36 for your unyielding support since the beginning of my stories, as well as all of those who have favorited, tagged, or marked this story. thanks! As always, let me know what you think ;)_


	7. Chapter 7: second chances

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

This chapter goes to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Your feedback gave me the encouragement to write this, so if it's a little longer than usual, it's because I was more inspired :)

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Second Chances… Or Lack Thereof<strong>

She woke up to the sound of her new alarm clock, it buzzed for about a minute before she lazily shut it out, the sound however was nowhere near as annoying as the one she had before. It had been a new acquisition of hers right after she had been released from her duties as…whatever it was she was doing in the hospital wing.

A month had passed since the incident with the sergeant and still he gave her the kind of special treatment she was not so happy to have, but she was never late, so that gave him little to work with, she also took note of how Kohaku made his uniform and made sure to look her best at all times, she even did her laundry manually to avoid crossing any other squad member. She was still the weakest member of the squad and she was still just as helpless when the sergeant decided he needed someone to treat like a human punching bag. Figuratively speaking, of course.

There had been rumors about the major punishing Kouga but no one knew the nature of the punishment, or the extent of it, it seemed however, it had made him a little more cautious with his treatment to the new recruits.

She did her shoelaces and proceeded then to methodically brush her boots clean and tidying the rest of her uniform. She admired for the hundredth time the stainless steel alarm clock now resting over her otherwise empty nightstand. It was a very simple gift, and it was obviously used, but it was probably one of the most valuable things she had at the moment; the delivery had been simple as well, it had been laying on her bed the same day she had gotten out of her imprisonment with the major, wrapped in brown postal paper and with a simple note that read _I believe you need this more than I do. _

She had thought it was nothing special until she realized it could not be tempered with. A week after her return someone had tried to make her late for training, _again_ and yet, she was still on time. It was only through Shippo she found out about their little scheming.

She smiled to herself, but couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the major since the day she left. She had heard he was giving the entire hospital staff a hard time with the therapy sessions for his arm. She couldn't help the twist on her stomach when she realized he was really just venting his frustrations on all the people around him. And she had helped him… somehow. The last night of her stay he had thanked her (in his own words, 'she was not as unbearable as that priestess excuse of a nurse') she frowned when she realized it had not been so much of a 'thank you' or even a backhanded compliment, but she decided she would not dwell on that longer than needed.

She nodded happily to the mirror's reflection. Her fair complexion was coming back, and she quietly thanked the controlled full-of-everything-you-need army meals and her new resolve to sleep at least 7 hours a day (it wasn´t her regular 9 hours, but still) she hummed softly under her breath, not really knowing where her good mood was coming from.

* * *

><p>- "Major I need you to stay still while we do this"<p>

- "I don't need any of this. I've already told you, it will not make a difference. Are you really that dense?"- He was beginning to lose his patience. Not that it took much to get on his nerves.

- "We're only trying to help you sir"- she said slowly, as if talking to a child and reaching for his arm once more.

-"I don't recall having asked for your help"- he answered coldly

- "well, you can't exactly make me go away" she said slower still, planting a smile on her balloon-shaped face. The corners of his mouth lifted imperceptibly

Kagome Higurashi was filling in a report on the front desk when a loud crash was heard down the hall, she jumped a foot in the air and lifted her eyes in time to watch as something went flying out the last door cashing and bouncing on the once-white walls. The nurse screams came immediately after; followed by an angry roar and a slammed door no one dared to open for the rest of the day. She looked down at the report she had been making where a black spot now rested over the subject: 'aggression and unjustified violence' she took another form from the stack, then hesitated, taking an extra one as she saw the nurse running to the nearest exit. That was the fourth one he had managed to scare away.

* * *

><p>-"Rin! - where have you been?"- was the first thing she heard when she set foot outside her dorm<p>

-"What?"– She had been awake for an hour, but it was still far too early to process anything. She frowned at Shippo's anxious demeanor- "what do you mean? I'm not late for anything…I know I'm not!"

- "no, no Rin, it's not that! They're announcing it today remember? That briefing we were informed about only yesterday? Everyone's been speculating about it all morning!"

- "Really? I thought it was something about the Special Forces or whatever?"- Shippo slapped his hand against his face- "what? Isn't that for officials and higher ranked people?"

- "really, Rin, where _were_ you yesterday?"- He took a deep breath, and then started whispering furiously- "there was a leak of information. Remember that mission last month? The one that went terribly wrong?" - She nodded, _how could she forget?_

She had learned in the last month just _who _she had been assigned to look after- "well, apparently, it was no mistake on the major, as everyone had assumed. These bombs, they were specifically made for a strong demon, designed to break his senses, overwhelm his instincts, and to harm with the same force it would take to blow a small city, it's a miracle he was even found alive. If it had been any other demon, even the strongest one, we would still be finding the pieces. It's the Kind of bomb one has to actually design for a specific end. Do you get what I'm saying?"

She looked confused for a minute. How could someone even escape something like that? - "so, wait, are you saying..?"-

"It was an inside job, there was a traitor in the Special Forces"- he grabbed her by the arm and began to speak lower still- "there was a woman, Aito Kagura"- at Rin's clueless face he supplied- "She was dating the major, but he began to suspect her and had her investigated, they were going to conduct a martial court on her, but get this; the day of the accident, all files on her were lost when someone's assistant left the window opened, there was some kind of blizzard inside the poor guy's office… whatever"- he waved is hand dismissively- "they thought it was all lost, but he was one step ahead of her. He knew she would try to pull something off, so he had already made copies of every single piece of information he had against her, while still playing the lover card all along!"- He took in a deep breath- "it must have been hard!"

"Are we speaking about the same person? Major Sato, right? Does that man feel anything?"- she laughed when Shippo rolled his eyes at her

"Yes, I'm sure! I'm telling you, He's a genius! Scary and heartless, but a genius, nevertheless"- Rin thought Shippo looked like a schoolgirl gossiping about some hot guy, but decided not to comment on it. This had been the most she had heard of the major in a month.

"yeah, I heard he's pretty good"- she acknowledged vaguely

"Good? I would say he's pretty damn awesome. Did you know he's the youngest in his rank in the history of the army?" – He was looking at her as if she had never had a glass of water in her life.

"She placed her hand beneath her chin thinking for a short while "Hmm… well, I didn't know that, but you're acting like the guy is some kind of rock star, Shippo, I'm not sure I can agree with you"- she thought back to the days she had spent with the major and his determination to make her miserable, then the last days came to her and she couldn't find it in herself to think of the major as a monster. She hadn't spoken about that to anyone.

"You're hopeless, completely hopeless!" he cried exasperated "just come along"

"Are you sure we shouldn't be going training like any other day?"- She asked nervously watching over her shoulder in case someone tried to stop them. Not that it would make any difference.

"I thought you would like to see how it all went down since you _had _to assist him for almost two weeks"- he called over his shoulder but didn't look at her face. Rin wondered for a moment if he had snooped around that information for her sake.

"I think I'm happy not to be doing that right now. At any rate, I don't think he would even remember me…not that…I want him to remember… I'm just...fine… - she took a deep breath- so…training?"

* * *

><p>"I thought you would be happy about today, major"- she ignored the cold stare he directed at her; at least he wasn't ignoring her as per usual. she cleared her throat- "you know, it's not usual for someone your age to be so awarded, but then again, you have done a fair deal of"-<p>

"Are you done?"- he cut her off acidly. Apparently he had had enough of her company for the day. Although they hadn't really shared more than a few minutes at a time in the same room. She calmed her nerves enough to answer with a weak awkward smile.

"All done"- she said, trying not to look at him even though he was looking out the window again- "ah! Almost forgot, here's the number to the hospital wing and an assistant nurse in case you need anything"- she said placing the white card over the mattress. She knew he wouldn't even look at it, but somehow, she felt the need to be respectful of him. Something about his aura was so commanding she figured she just couldn't stop trying to please him. It wouldn't really make any difference though, he seemed to hate her.

He slipped the white undershirt over his head and maneuvered his bandaged arm in the left sleeve, suppressing the need to rip off the offending article as it got tangled at the end of his severed limb. Kagome felt her heart clench as she watched him struggle but turned her back on him and quietly closed the door, she had learned by accounts of the first three nurses he did not take well to people helping him. She'd rather keep her job

* * *

><p>-"Hello? Anyone? Hello? Somebody help me! Please!"- She kicked the locker for the twentieth time and banged her fists on the door. For all the noise she was making, she would have thought someone would hear her out. It didn't work though; she'd been going at it for almost an hour and still no answer. Either no one heard her or no one cared enough to come to her aid.<p>

She lit her lighter inside the small locker and coughed as the smoke accumulated around her. She put it out. It was dark once again and she considered what she would do if no one came before the morning. She had no cell phone on her at the moment. Last time she had it on her, the sergeant had confiscated it and then he had made her run 12 laps around the training fields as punishment. Needless to say, she had learned to leave it in her rooms, where she could read her messages and get calls without the ever watchful eye of Kouga (or his lackeys) over her shoulder. How she wished she had just broken her good behavior for that day.

She checked her watch. This one, she had gotten from a convenience store inside the camp. It was only not so convenient that she could do nothing but watch as the time flew past her in her attempts to get out of the stupid locker.

It had been two hours, still no response. She would try every 15 minutes and every time she heard anything at all in the confined space. It was probably her imagination though. That part of camp was rarely used by anyone and she was beginning to think the building was abandoned. She resisted the urge to cry, instead venting her frustrations on the locker door with a hard kick. She listened to the echo as it died 20 seconds after that.

"Damn it!"- She cursed loudly at the door. Then she kicked and banged and then screamed and cursed some more for good measure, then she landed one last kick at the unyielding door. She would have to ask someone to teach her how to break a door down when she got out of there, _although_- she reasoned- _there's probably not enough room for that- _She couldn't even sit inside the locker. She had tried and nearly got stuck in the process, so instead the only thing left to do was leaning on the side of the ridiculously small place.

The temperature was already dropping and one third look at her watch told her it was already past seven. She had been there for three hours, maybe a little more. Her stomach began to rumble loudly and she doubled over as best as she could in the confined space. She had never been good resisting hunger, let alone hunger, thirst and cold at the same time. She let out an ironic laugh as she remembered the only time that she had been worse than that moment, just a month before. At least this time she wasn't wet.

She felt a chill run down her spine and decided it was probably best not to lean on the walls, they were made of metal and her uniform was not nearly enough to keep her from getting too cold. She would rather not freeze to death.

It went like that for another half hour, alternating between leaning on the walls for support and getting away from them when the cold became too unbearable; she was starting to shake, so she rubbed her arms up and down in quick motions trying to keep the heat in. It worked for a while, but she decided to fold her arms in an attempt to keep the warm a little longer. She dropped her arms as she heard the sound of paper crumbling.

_The letter! - _She had completely forgotten about that. She fumbled with her uniform as she struggled to get the letter out the front pocket of the shirt she was wearing under her uniform. Rin held it to her chest for a few seconds before she sloppily ripped the envelope.

That letter was the reason she was now inside that locker, she had been distracted and as a result, got ambushed by someone she was almost certain were members of her squad. And she had a feeling she knew who they were.

She lit her lighter once again and began to read. It was the first letter she had received from her father. And she could barely contain the tears that threatened to come to her eyes as she read the first lines:

_My dearest Rin:_

_I'm sorry it took me so long to write to you. I didn't want to do it for so many reasons, I have to say it's not every father's joy to see their only daughter run to enlist in the army, so many things could go wrong and I thought you wanted to be an artist! You are still, however, my little girl and regardless of your decisions (however reckless they are) I do still love you. _

_I still don't know what prompted this, but know, if you decide to come back home, I'll be waiting for you with a hot cup of chocolate and your favorite book to read in front of the fireplace just like we used to do not so long ago._

She wiped a tear from her cheeks and took a deep breath. That was exactly the reason she needed to stay strong, if things kept going the way they were, her father would never be able to see again, let alone read. She brought the lighter closer to the letter as she continued reading-

_I heard the government is sending people away on field missions, please do your old man a favor and stay clear from those if you can. From what I can see those rebels are still getting away with all the atrocities they have committed and I would hate to see you in the middle of it. I don't know how you've been living so far, but I reckon it must be quite different from life as you know it, but I hope at least they are treating you well._

_Please write back as soon as you get this. It's getting lonely around here. _

_Love, _

_Dad_

She put the lighter out, her fingers felt sore already but she could barely move. That was, until she heard soft steps coming down the hallway. She would have probably missed them if she hadn't been completely still, but there it was again, it was unmistakably someone walking down the hall. She wiped her tears furiously and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat

-"h-he-hello? Please! Please help me"- she pleaded through the door desperately. She was too cold and tired to care.

The steps stopped and for a moment she feared it was Ginta and Hakkaku coming back to taunt her, but when three minutes passed and there was still, no sound she began to think she had imagined it. Maybe she was delusional; it _had_ been 9 hours since her last meal.

She was on the verge of crying, but she tried once again, this time barely over a whisper- "hello? Is someone th..?"- The door was suddenly yanked open and as she had been leaning on it she fell straight in the hands of her savior.

It didn't take her long to realize her mistake though, she only knew one person on the camp who was missing half his left arm. She instantly felt the blood rush to her face as she attempted to get up or get away or _anything!_

In her current state though, she only managed to stumble on her feet and bury her face deeper into the major's uniform, (which she couldn't help but think was much softer than hers)

-"well I see you have a thing for getting yourself in ridiculous situations, don't you, private?"- She heard his cold distant tone and yet, she knew he was mocking her.

- "uhmm, I'm sorry I didn't mean to…err...Jump on you like that, sir"- she managed to say when she finally got away from him. Then she added as an afterthought- please forgive my insolence.

- "I trust you received the package I sent you?"- he stated, more than asked still keeping his rigid stance in front of her with his hands (err...hand) on his back. She was lost for a second and then the alarm clock came to mind.

"Ah! Yes! I did receive it, thank you very much sir…"- they were left in awkward silence for what felt like a heartbeat too long and then she quickly added- "it was very thoughtful of you"- she played with her hands awkwardly, noticing for the first time they were turning blue, now that they were in the light. She settled to get them inside her pockets as she finally lifted her eyes to meet his calculating and slightly curious stare.

It seems to me like you need a little more than just an alarm clock- he noted lifting a single eyebrow at her

"Yeah, well…you know me; I just love to get in trouble. Today, I was just exploring another approach to that".

His jaw clenched at her half-hearted attempt of a joke and it crossed her mind she had never actually seen him smile or laugh or chuckle or anything really. This man was as cold as they came. _He probably doesn't even have a sense of humor-_she thought dryly

"Out of curiosity, how did you find me? I've been here for hours and no one came even close to this place"-

"Do you have any idea of where you are, _Rin_?"- So he did remember her name! Figures.

"What do you mean sir?"- He didn't respond verbally, but he did make a small gesture with his hand indicating she take a look. she eyed her surroundings twice before coming to a conclusion- "no, I don't know…Sesshoumaru-sama"- she muttered at last

"Hmm, I deduce you were brought here against your will, then"- he paused for confirmation before continuing- "I believe you also think you can get away with this because you didn't know, don't you?"- Rin felt her throat constrict and swallowed loudly and painfully as she hadn't had a thing to drink all day.

"Am I in trouble sir?"- She reverted to his title, as she now was certain he was being rather serious and not in a friendly mood at all. If he could even be called friendly, that is.

"This area is forbidden for anyone in your rank _private_. Perhaps a more suitable gift would have been a compass?"

"I…"- she opened her mouth twice but then closed it again as no sound came out. She couldn't believe her ears. He had saved her and _then_ he decided to go all commanding and insulting on her? He was really something, but she decided, for the time being, she would let it rest. He _was _after all like a zillion ranks over her- "I'm sorry"

"You're out or place and you're out after curfew"- He continued-"What shall I do about you?"-

She nearly whimpered praying to any god that was listening to have mercy on her. She still couldn't feel half her limbs. But no, she knew he was not going to let her get away with it. W_ell_- she decided- _if he's going to be like that, I have nothing more to lose… Might as well give it a shot_- "you know major, my father says you can't expect improvement if you don't give people time to adjust…"

He huffed at her poor reasoning- "_My_ father would have killed you just for daring to come near his territory, private"- this time she literally felt her throat close on her and she coughed nervously

-"Yes, well you can't always do as your father has"- she coughed some more- it would be unwise not to learn from his mistakes

- "This is the army Rin, we don't believe in second chances, we believe in punishment"- He retorted dangerously low. At least he was back to using her name. She didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

She wanted to say something, really needed to say something, but the words just refused to come out. They were still standing in the hallway not too far from the locker were she had been trapped less than 15 minutes ago. She suddenly wished she was back inside it, maybe she would have been found in the morning.

Her thoughts were cut short as they heard two sets of footsteps coming down the hall. They had apparently not seen them yet, and they whispered furiously back and forth as they walked, although it didn't really make any difference, if she could hear them, so could he.

"Get inside"- he instructed and before she had a chance to complain, he had pushed her back inside the locker, leaving the door slightly opened but not opened enough to give away her hiding spot.

She was just about to jump out the locker when she recognized the voices. They belonged to Ginta and Hakkaku, the same duo that had gotten her to that place.

She could see their peculiar boots from the cracks in the door. She was careful not to lean on it though. She would just watch as this played along

"I see you came to collect the prize, but it has already left".

"And just who are you?" - responded petulantly Ginta. The major didn't bother to respond to that but she did feel like the temperature had just dropped a few more degrees

"I'll give you 3 seconds to leave before I make you pay for your insolence"- Hakkaku sounded like he was trying to hold in his laughter, but in the end, the both burst out laughing. Apparently travelling in packs made them overconfident and they clearly didn't know just who they were talking to. _Where they _that_ stupid?_

After that, she didn't hear much, other than the snapping of a few bones, a few high groans of pain and the noise as the bodies hit the lockers right beside hers. When it all died down, she ventured outside the door to find the major cleaning his fist on the fabric of Hakkaku's uniform shirt. He looked completely disgusted, though.

"Major…I"- what the hell was wrong with her throat? She cleared it and instead let out a strangled "thank you".

"I didn't do it for you; I just dislike it when people enter my domains uninvited. And these two needed a lesson on showing respect to their superiors".

He retracted his fist and she noted it was still covered in blood, not his blood though. She then noticed something out of the ordinary. He wasn't wearing his dress-coat. The one were his ensigns were supposed to be. She frowned confused as she was sure he had had it on just minutes before, so _he must have taken it off_. Then it hit her; He had done it on purpose. He knew the duo would seek out trouble and he had taken off his ensigns so they wouldn't recognize him as an officer.

_Wonders never cease with this man- "_I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that, sir"-She corrected quietly

"Don't get used to it, I was merely paying back a debt I owed you"- he said as he bent over to pick up his discarded coat by the floor- "don't you ever dare come near this side of camp again".

Was he letting her off the hook?-"yes sir, absolutely".

"You better. I've been here long enough to have learned many ways to make you obey"- then he began to walk away from her, further down the hall without so much of a glance back. A thought crossed her mind then.

"And major!" - She called. He stopped walking but didn't turn to face her- "Congratulations on your award!"-

She didn't stay long enough to see if he would change his mind about letting her free, she didn't exactly want to find out if he made good on his threat.

The run back to her dorms was a lot faster than she remembered.

-.-

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><p>AN: I know it was a long wait, but hopefully this makes up for it. I also hope this chapter answers some of your doubts regarding sesshoumaru's incident, if not, be patient...all shall be revealed in the next chapters :)

As always, let me know what you think. love...


	8. Chapter 8: pact with the major

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters involved.

This chapter goes to icegirljenni for guessing the next turn on Kagura's plotline. Remember the rebels? Hold on to that thought, it will be explained in this chapter

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><p><strong>Pact with the Major<strong>

Rin closed her eyes tightly as she held her breathing for a few seconds. Her legs were already giving out on her, but what was really killing her was the pain on her ribcage. She just knew she should not have talked to Shippo while running.

Her lungs burnt from the exertion but she pushed herself further. She would not be put to shame even if they all thought she was a weakling. She bit her lip as the pain on her ribcage intensified but kept running. She couldn't falter. Not now, if she didn't finish, they would never see her as anything more than a bimbo.

That day in particular had started as nothing out of the ordinary. They had all gathered in the training field to do their regular routine, but then Kouga seemed to arrive in a bad mood (why didn't that surprise her?) and had made them all run 20 laps around camp. She wasn't even sure she had ever visited all corners of camp, let alone gone around it. She just knew this would be hell.

She hadn't been wrong. When they started all men had gone right ahead of her (except for Shippo, who wasn't that athletic, even though he claimed we was keeping her company) and they ran a reasonably fast first lap. The second one, she noted, was not as energic as the first. Some slacked, some dropped the rhythm, and some settled for an automatic pace she thought made them look like the clones from star wars.

By the third lap, a few of them took the leadership of their little unit and decided to get ahead of everyone by at least 300 meters. She kept running in the same pace as before, no need to get ahead of herself.

By the fourth lap she was starting to wish she had had a better breakfast, she just knew that cheese sandwich would get her nowhere. Maybe she should have had the hotcakes instead. She shook her head slightly, clearing her mind again. The sun was rising and it promised to be a very hot day. She suddenly wished the training uniform would be lighter, like the shorts she wore when she was in high school. She felt her tresses getting loose and she put her hair out of the bun to tighten it. One quick look to the side told her that had gotten the attention of her female starved comrades. _On second thought, maybe the shorts aren't such good idea._

By the seventh lap, she took back her thoughts on a heavier breakfast as she watched how Ginta stopped on the side of the road to vomit his breakfast. He had had the hotcakes.

Somewhere along the way, Hakkaku had slowed down as well; it seemed he no longer wanted to lead the group. Rin did her best to keep a straight face as she ran past him.

* * *

><p>He scanned the papers before him carefully, trying to filter all the information he could while he still had them at hand. The papers were evidence in the martial court that was conducted on Kagura; therefore, he could no longer keep them in his possession. He methodically organized the papers over his desk and then sorted them chronologically as he wrote down the aspects he considered most important. Something was not right with the case. He knew it, but he also knew he couldn't exactly convince anyone if he didn't have proof of it. To raise an accusation against anyone in the army was a very delicate matter and it had to be handled with the utmost secrecy until all facts could be confirmed. Otherwise, he risked expulsion himself.<p>

He closed his eyes tightly and brought his hand to the bridge of his nose. He was still having feedback from the day that bomb had exploded on him and the whistle in his ears was annoying to say the least. That's how he found himself next to the window watching over the training field as he waited for the deafening noise in his head to go quiet again.

The first thing his eyes landed on was of course _her._ She was running around camp, carefully measuring her steps as she looked a step away from fainting. As the minutes passed, he stood in the window watching as one by one, the rest of the (partially decimated) squad followed. The first to hit the mark was probably that boy Kohaku Uchiha. He knew he hadn't made a mistake on that one; he was probably going to be promoted sooner or later, if he followed in his sister's steps. The next to follow were three others he didn't even recognize from the admission test day and then two others, one of them, he recognized as Shippo Kimura, the boy from the bar he hadn't visited in a while, his bright orange hair was hard to miss, even under the cap he sported. He wasn't so sure about that one.

Ten minutes later, came the second lap (he didn't even know how long they had been running, but they all looked quite beaten) The girl,_ Rin _he reminded himself was still running alone, she was probably the last of the group, but her step was still strong even though she was red as a tomato and her hair stuck to her face like dark ink.

The rest of the men came running one after another. He watched critically as they either faltered breathed too hard or limped on one side. It was obvious strength wasn't all. He decided then he hadn't made a mistake on her either; she _did_ have a fire in her he was sure would see her to the finish line. _Unlike most of her squad._

* * *

><p>Rin put away her sweaty uniform as she made her way to the showers. Thankfully, they were usually empty due to the lack of women on camp. Sadly, she was part of the 10 lucky ones there, including the officers.<p>

She inhaled profoundly before entering the empty shower rooms. It was nothing too flashy, nothing on camp really was. They were practical, clean and (mostly) comfortable facilities, but they weren't luxurious. That room was no different; Plain polished concrete floor, white tiled walls (albeit ridiculously white) and a large enough space to fit 20 people standing which was meant as changing area. Needless to say, she didn't exactly feel comfortable in that place. It was too exposed, not feminine enough, not nearly as warm _or _personal as her bathroom back home, and definitely not close enough to her dorms.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was paranoid. She was always extra careful when she went there; she knew no male recruits were allowed in that area, but she wouldn't put it past the sergeant to try and pull something while she was in the showers. That's why her baths were never too long.

Today, however, she didn't feel like rushing. She ran the whole 20 laps and came to only 4th place in the group. She pushed aside the thought that only four of them had actually made it to the finish line because she didn't particularly care she had been the last, if it meant she had beat half her squad mates and didn't faint in the attempt to do so. She hummed quietly and reached for the shampoo beside her, marveling in the feeling of the water against her flushed skin. She poured the strawberry scented shampoo on her palm and then proceeded to rub it thoroughly in her hair, loving how the foam refreshed her completely. Definitely a good choice, today was no day to rush.

She kept humming and singing quietly as she kept massaging her sore scalp. She was definitely not a fan of braids. _And what was that song again?_ She shook her head and reached for the soap. No fancy soap, just the one they had laying around, not as good for the skin, but she wasn't going to complain.

The door opened without a noise and he expertly moved into the room, not alerting its only occupant of his presence. She was still humming even though her hair was already clean. She turned the water pressure up and he watched raptly as she rinsed her dark locks. She was about to grab the conditioner from the shelf, but he felt he didn't have time to let her do that too.

She had just put her fingers around the bottle when she was suddenly yanked from behind, and rather roughly, out the shower stall

_Oh yeah, that song was called _open your eyes*

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><p>Her first instinct was to scream, then it occurred to her no one would listen and she didn't exactly want her <em>male<em> comrades to help her, seeing as she was completely naked. She did the best next thing she could; she trashed and kicked in every possible direction she could. She knew she couldn't possibly win against a male opponent, but if she just got away, then maybe…

-"Stay still, or I swear I'm going to make good on my promise"- she went rigid in his arms

_No!nononononono! _She tried to move again, but apparently he had taken advantage of her shock to take a good tight hold on her. Her arms were trapped by her sides and she could barely see with her hair covering most of her eyes, he was maybe a foot taller than her, so there was really not much she could do with her legs. Thinking back, maybe screaming wasn't such a bad choice. She inhaled getting ready to scream

"Be silent!"- he ordered then, anticipating what she had been thinking, in a tone a lot more commanding than she'd ever heard him use. Something about the urgency in his voice made her obey. He didn't really look like the kind of person who would go around messing with people's heads. _Err...not like that, anyways_.

"What are you doing?"- She whispered furiously, not bothering with the honorifics given the fact that _he _had interrupted her shower in a rather ungentlemanly way.

"Quiet!"- He hissed back in her ear. Something was definitely not right, aside from the obvious, of course. He moved them to the opposite end of the shower rooms, away from door and from where they could not be spotted if someone decided to come inside. She didn't know what to think of that.

He had her in such tight embrace she could feel every single one of his ensigns digging to the back of her shoulders. Her very _naked _shoulders. She felt a rush of blood suddenly ascend to her cheeks and color her down to her chest.

"Major I don't think this is…appropriate"- she said weakly, though this time, she was thankful her hair was covering her eyes as it was barely long enough that it covered her breasts. She was suddenly feeling self-conscious.

She felt him stiffen at her back and then slowly let her go before he handed her a towel without a word. He had the decency to look the other way while she secured it around herself.

That's when she heard it. A small explosion that sounded way too near for comfort. Next thing she knew, she was being hauled away from the wall she'd been using for support where now rested a hole the size of a bear.

Her eyes nearly flew out of her eye sockets but she didn't have much time to think as something came flying through the hole into the room and soon filled everything with some sort of black smoke. She inhaled sharply in surprise, but then realized her mistake as the smoke turned out to be miasma, very toxic miasma.

She choked on her breath and her hands went flying to her neck, where she could already feel her throat closing painfully against her windpipe. She coughed as she frantically searched around for the nearest exit; it seemed there was only one, but then, that door was on the other side of the room. She had to get to it, either way.

She made it no further than three steps when she saw something fly at her from said door. Her eyes were blurry though, so she didn't know what it was for sure, although it kinda looked like a grenade…funny…why would there be a grenade..?

She flew back to the other end of the room from the force of the impact, right before the grenade exploded just by the door of the showers. The air had been knocked out of her for good and when she made to move, she understood why. The major had landed over her. He had saved her from the blast, but he was still not in the best shape. She looked around now that all the commotion seemed to have stopped and she tried once again to breath _seems like the explosion took away most of the miasma_ she inhaled deeply, but instead of fresh air, she was assaulted by the very masculine scent of the major. She went completely still; now she realized she was on a busted shower room, naked except for a towel and wet with an unconscious officer on top of her.

* * *

><p>She threw herself at the door and closed it just in time to hear the sound of footsteps coming down the hall in the direction of the shower room, no doubt to help or pry on what had happened there. She would never get used to how gossipy soldiers actually were. It just seemed like she had escaped the worst of it, though. The rest of her squad were already taken to bulling her, she didn't need to give them a reason to make her famous all around the army.<p>

She leaned her head back on the door and banged it softly to vent her frustrations. She inspected a lock of her hair and got to the conclusion it was as clean as when she had first gone into the showers. She would definitely have to wash it again.

Then she looked over to the bed where an unconscious Sesshoumaru Sato rested unbeknownst to the world. Why did these things keep happening to her? What had she done? She knew for a fact the major would not be happy when he woke up. He wasn't _ever_ happy, so why would it be any different when he woke up in the dorm of a female private having no recollection of how he got there. Not that she could provide any answers herself. She didn't know how she had managed to get the man over there herself, but she blamed it on an adrenaline rush.

She started to pace from left to right in the small room, trying to think of a good way out of that one. No luck there. She caught her reflection on the mirror and decided she needed to get dressed, the least of her concerns being her once white towel was practically black from all the dirt and smoke back in the showers.

She made a quick dash for the closet and quickly selected comfortable attire, in case something else happened.

She was just about to change when it occurred to her she had no place to change. The room was obviously meant for a single person to fill it, and so, there was no place she could hide to change in case the major woke up. She debated for 10 seconds and then decided she needed to do it either way. She couldn't just stay in her towel with a man in front of her. An unconscious man, but a man nevertheless. _My mother would be so proud of me_ she thought gloomily as she reached for a set of black underwear. She cast one last look at the major and then quickly dropped her towel to put on the bikini. She decided to face the other way while she put on the bra.

Just as she had finished clasping it came a knock on the door, Hard enough to be heard, but not so much than it was impolite. She just knew it wasn't Kouga, so she grew nearer to it and spoke through the door quietly so she wouldn't wake the sleeping officer.

-"who is it?"- She cast a look at him out the corner of her eye to confirm that yes, he was still out cold.

-"it's Kohaku! Let me in!"- came his response. She looked frantically around her trying to make some quick excuse not to let him inside. If anyone found out she was keeping an officer in her dorms, it would be the end of her.

-" I-I…can't"- she nearly kicked herself at how insecure she sounded, then tried again- "It's…uh…forbidden! Remember? There are too many people around, you'll get in trouble"- she bit her index finger as she anxiously waited for his reply. He seemed to buy it

- "fine, don't let me in, but at least open the door! I have something for you!"-

- "ok, give me a sec!"- She turned around to go grab her clothes and instead came face to…chest with the major

-"eep! Y-y-you…" - he put his hand over her mouth to keep her from _squealing_ another word. Then he slowly pulled it away and instead brought a finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet. Then he passed her the clothes she taken out of the closet and indicated for her to open the door with a nod of his head.

She slipped the pink sweater and grey sweatpants on before she went to open the door.

-"hey! Sorry for that, I was…ironing my uniform"- she finished lamely

- "oh? So this isn't yours?"- He said bringing to her attention the bundle of green clothing she now recognized as her uniform. The one she had left in the showers _damn it!_

-"err..Yes, I meant the other one…"- they stood silent for a moment, before she added- "yeah I have two. Hehe"

"Oh! Right! Right, of course. Well I was just passing by to leave you these and see if you were fine. There was an accident in the showers"- he supplied. Then he seemed to notice her awfully rigid posture by the door and asked- "is everything ok?"

"Err…Yeah!… everything's fine, just a little tired! You know?"- He didn't seem to notice her voice had gone up a few octaves at his question.

"Ah! Yes, I can imagine…almost forgot! Here's your cosmetics"- he said shoving a bag into her hands with her shampoo, conditioner and what looked like a burnt bar of soap.

"How did you know it was mine?"- She asked curiously. Her uniform wasn't marked.

"It was the shampoo"- he scratched the back of his head lightly- "I've noticed your hair always smells like strawberries"- he then tried to laugh it off as an offhanded comment, but she had already seen the blush that crept on his face. Before she had any more time to dwell on that, though, he was gone.

* * *

><p>- "So wait, you're telling me, I almost got killed because someone confused me for your lying, evil ex-girlfriend?"- She almost shouted<p>

He didn't comment on her use of words, but did shot her a firm, scolding glare before he continued –"they apparently don't know she's been sent to martial court yet"- he sat on her bed resting his elbow over his right knee in deep thought. –"it is as I feared, then. She was helping someone outside the army"- he muttered, mostly to himself.

"Someone outside the army? You mean she was part of a greater scheme?"- She chewed on her lip, not liking that piece of information one bit. She had thought a few years in the army wouldn't be _that_ bad as long as she stayed home. What could she do then, if the fight was bought to her doorstep?

"The bombs they had designed for the last ambush were something out of the ordinary"- she felt her heart drop to her stomach as his hand unconsciously lifted to the point where his left arm abruptly ended- "so much in fact, that I would bet my rank to say they were manufactured by the rebels. One man specifically; Onigumo Musashi."

"T-th-the rebels? Aren't they like…paramilitary?" – She was mostly ignorant of those things, but she had heard a few things about them. They had the nasty tendency of killing people everywhere they went.

"For the most part, yes. But things have been changing; we no longer know what they want, but their targets have become more… accurate. Onigumo's been planning something for a while".

"So, you think this woman, Kagura, was working with the rebels?"-

"Not only that, I believe we still have a traitor in the Special Forces".

"What? How do you know?"

"I know for a fact Kagura didn't plant that bomb, I kept her under watch the whole time, which means, somebody else did. I had scanned the area all night and I couldn't feel anyone else in a 2 miles radius"- he breathed deeply before he continued- "The bomb was merely 100 meters from our camp".

"So you think someone else from your team was conspiring with her?"

"Yes. Otherwise, they wouldn't have tried to silence her today. They obviously fear she'll blow their cover".

"Excuse my ignorance sir, but… why is no one doing anything about this?"- He gave her a blank stare that spoke volumes- "ok, then, let me rephrase my question..Have you told anyone about this?"- He was now giving her a blatant glare- "…sir?"-

"I have not"- then he narrowed his eyes and she swore the raised hairs in the nape of her neck had to be some kind of warning signal- "and you will not either"-

Well, he sure had a way of being intimidating. She gulped audibly- "t-ththen wh-why are you t-telling me this?"-

"Let's just say I need a few ears down the food chain"- he reached into his jacket and got something out the inner pocket, placing the folded piece of paper in front of her, by the bed- "and you seem like you're fit enough to keep a secret"

She didn't take long to recognize the peculiar paper in front of her, she knew it hadn't been produced in years and her father happened to have a large stack of it back home.

"where did you get that?"- she asked raising her voice two tones as she knocked the chair to the floor, prepared to give him a piece of her mind. Superior or not.

"You dropped it on your last visit to the west wing"- he responded in clipped tones.

Her defensive stance deflated at that- "Ahem…well thanks. Err… did you..?"- She noticed the change in the room and decided not to finish what she was going to say. She had a feeling he would be offended by it- "thanks, I really appreciate it sir".

"You might want to get someone to escort you when you look for the next one"- he said getting up from her bed in one single fluent move. He dusted the imaginary particles of dirt from his uniform (how come his uniform was still clean after all the shower room mess?) and turned his penetrating golden eyes on her. She didn't think she'd ever get used to that- "And don't let anyone know about those letters".

She was about to protest, but her words died in her mouth as she caught up with his reasoning. If someone knew about her father, then they would use the letters against her. She didn't want to have her private life being exposed as a prank. No, she needed to do this and she needed no one to know about it.

"I'll help you, but I need a favor in return"- she already expected the skeptical eye brow that rose at her bold statement- "I need you to help me defend myself".

"Why?"- came his slow reply. She knew what he was asking. He didn't need to know why she needed to defend herself. He'd seen the reasons on three different occasions already. No, he wanted to know_ why he should bother helping her._ She suddenly felt like a prey being hopelessly rounded by its predator.

"I…"- She debated whether to tell him or not the reason she needed to desperately stay in the army, but he _had_ said not to let anyone know about the letters (and by extension, her father). She decided that included him as well- "don't need to justify myself to you, major"- she met his gaze defiantly and hoped he would yield at her next statement- "If you want my help, that's my condition".

"What makes you think you're in the position to negotiate?"- He asked dangerously low taking full advantage of his height to intimidate her- "I can just order you to do it, _private"-_ and there it was again, he reminding her just how much above her he was. She wouldn't back down though, instead, she took a step closer to him, showing she was really not impressed by his whole act and looked him straight in the eye as she retorted

"Well, sir… I think by now we can both agree you can't really order people into being reliable".

He growled under his breath and stormed out of her room. By then, it was already dark and since the commotion had ceased, the hallways were bound to be empty. She had struck a nerve, she knew, but at least now she had his help.

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><p><em>Dear Rin:<em>

_I'm happy to hear from you, happier still that you are happy, although I can't say I understand it. Yesterday, I received a letter about some bank account and insurance benefits, I imagine it all comes with the package, so maybe that's not so bad. _

_I'm fine myself dear, don't worry about me, just do your best, I'm sure you'll make me proud. Have you made any friends? How's it going with that boy you brought home last time? Kohaku, was his name? You can tell your father if someone's giving you trouble._

She snorted at that. _Yeah right_, her father couldn't even kill a fly, let alone intimidate some undereducated privates. She shook her head again and kept reading.

_We have some new neighbors, by the way, nice people they are, they invited us over for thanksgiving. I don't know how the calendar works in the army but I have already confirmed us. You don't have to worry though, if you can't make it, I'm sure they'll understand._

_They invited me to go fishing tomorrow (don't really know what we're fishing for in the break of winter, but I didn't have the heart to refuse) so I think I'll be out of town for the weekend. You just have to meet them, big family, that's for sure. They have a girl your age, I think her name is Kanna and they have another one in the army as well. Don't know what's wrong with youth these days, I tell you…_

_Are you coming home for Christmas? Naraku and his family are new on town, so I'm thinking we could make them feel welcomed. Write me back to let me know what you decide. In the mean time, take care of yourself and try to stay out of trouble._

_Love,_

_Dad._

She cast a look to the alarm clock and her new arrangements with the major jumped to the front of her mind.

_If only it was as easy as that. _

_-.-_

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><p><em>AN: __* the song Rin was talking about is called open your eyes, by snow patrol_

_ this chapter was so much fun to write... let me know your thoughts ;)_


	9. Chapter 9:just not that simple

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Sorry guys I've been away for a while, that's why I decided to make an extra-long post to make up for it. Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, followed… and so on.

If you're already here, enjoy!

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><p><strong>Just Not that Simple<strong>

The obstacle test seemed easy enough that they could all pass. No weapons, no extra weight, no tricky conditions; that's how it seemed, of course, but if Rin had learned anything from the time she'd been serving in the army, it was that things rarely were as easy as they seemed.

They all prepared for the test near the starting line, where a few other squads were already joining them. Apparently, it was a general activity. Not that it made any difference; they were all bigger, stronger and better fit for the test than she was. She made a quick scan over the field one last time; the first was the jumping obstacle. In the movies, this is what she would call the tire obstacles, this however, was slightly different; they had to jump over hurdles placed horizontally in the ground, they varied in heights and width, but otherwise the station didn't look that difficult to do. Next one was a robe they had to climb to the top of a wall she imagined was no smaller than 50 feet, then they had to follow to the other side, all the way down. Following that, was a nested area; at this point, she couldn't help but think that looked a little like a spider's web, a very complicated and thick one. The third one was a maze of what looked like hundreds of broomsticks vertically placed over a square no bigger than 10 feet squares, their disposition was random, but close enough that it required dodging every single one of them to get to the other side. The last was of course the crawling obstacle, which mainly consisted of a few crossed wires under which they had to crawl (over a muddied stinky ground) to reach to the other side.

There was a white flag at the end of the exercise which they could only get once the whole team made it through the obstacles. Easy enough, they all seemed to agree. Rin wondered if they were thinking about her.

Once each sergeant aligned at the other side of the field, came the signal. Each squad made it through the first obstacles fairly matched. Her squad ran straight to the hurdles and one by one, they made it past without much complication, she almost tripped on the last one, but Ginta was there right in front of her and she grabbed his arm for support, luckily, they were so preoccupied with getting to the next obstacle he didn't notice.

She looked to the giant wall in front of them as the first two ascended the robes. The next two were Ginta and Hakkaku, then a blond guy and Shippo and last, She and Kohaku.

They started to climb and she held to the robe as quickly as she could. The hard part came when she realized the wall was not rough as she had previously assumed, it was smooth. It was so smooth in fact, that it was slippery, she couldn't use it for support and she knew her arms weren't strong enough to carry her to the top of the wall, by her side, Kohaku had already managed to get a full ten feet distance between them. He looked back when he seemed to notice her absence by his side.

"Are you ok Rin"- He called. She looked on horrified as he held all his weight in one hand

"The wall's slippery, I- I can't get up"- She called back

"don't climb it vertically"- He replied

"What? What do you mean?"- she was getting out of breath, but she couldn't go back down, she'd already climbed 6 feet

"Try to lean back on the robe! Use the wall for support"- He explained

"Ok I'll try!"

When she did, it was like a major weight was taken off her. Suddenly she started ascending way quicker, _well it was sure a lot more easier now, pff… she was just being a drama queen, how embarrassing! No matter, now that she knew how to do it, it was a piece of c-!—_the soles of her boots slipped with a loud screech and the robe tensed violently as she hung to the robe for dear life. She knew she shouldn't have been so overconfident.

Kohaku was by her side in less than a few seconds – Rin! Rin Are you ok?-He asked frantically. His tone was nothing if not worried. She smiled reassuringly and nodded, but didn't move any further, her hands were burning her and she just knew they were going to have blisters from the friction when she had slipped down the robe. And they were so close to the top too!

"Kohaku, I...- I…"-_can't move! _She wanted to say-"You go on, I'll be right behind you"- She said instead.

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm not going to leave you hanging like that"- she wanted to sigh in frustration _didn't he see she was too terrified to move!?- _She cast a quick look to the ground below them and closed her eyes tightly, her knuckles already white from her death grip on the robe _yep... still afraid of heights. S_he was also remembering at that moment she didn't even have climbing equipment, so the fall would kill her.

"Ok, hold on, I'm going to try something, I need you to trust me, I'm not going to let you fall!"- He told her, as he quickly twisted his arm around the robe holding him and made his way closer to her, climbing sideways until he reached her side-"Ready?"- She nodded and he grabbed her with his free arm to get her away from the wall

She let out a yelp of surprise as her only support (albeit not really helpful) was taken away from her- what are you going?!- She screamed

"Trust me!"-he repeated. The raw honesty in his eyes was such; she had no choice but to believe him. When she calmed down, He instructed her to balance her legs forward-"I got you"- He interjected when she was about to protest.

When she did, she felt the robe starting to protest, but Kohaku's hold on her was strong enough that it didn't move. Two or three tries later, she was able to position her feet on the wall once again. She didn't remember much about the rest of the climb.

* * *

><p>That was how she found herself in her current predicament and how she had managed to get yet <em>another <em>punishment regardless of her efforts to stay under the ever nasty radar of Kouga.

"This was a group test"- he had said as he walked from side to side- "but no test you shall pass because of someone else"-, then he had come directly in front of her- "You princess, received help"-

She had tried to meet his gaze defiantly, but ducked it as soon as she realized he was looking for reasons to make punish her further. He had smiled in triumph as he caught her backtrack- by tomorrow, I want to see a perfect performance from you. Without any help! - He yelled- then he had taken a chronometer from his pants pocket and had tossed it as her. It hit her square in the face and she had pretended she didn't notice. She rubbed her nose feeling the bump already forming there. _No matter, she didn't give him the pleasure of letting him know he'd hurt her._

When she'd asked what she was supposed to do with it, he'd smiled in that way of his that only meant he wished a slow painful death for her

"What does it look like? I'm giving you a time limit. If you take over 1 minute to finish, I'll take it out on the rest of the squad. Then on you. Do you understand private?"-

When she had tried to protest, he had threatened to cut it to 30 seconds. She had decided not to try her luck.

She watched as her squad, along with the others, left the field. The apologetic looks Shippo _and _Kohaku were giving her didn't make things any better. The training hours were over and now some of them would take the time to eat, read or bond. The others would attend to tactic instruction and others would probably just finish unattended chores. She had to climb. And crawl. And dodge. And jump. And bend backwards. She really wanted to eat.

Rin eyed the devise around her neck, trying the buttons until a chronometer started counting. The first minute seemed to pass way too quickly. She wondered what Kouga was thinking; he obviously wanted to turn the squad on her._ Maybe Kohaku shouldn't have helped me. He's going to get in trouble because of me. _

The thought made her angry and she used that as motivation to keep training. She went over the hurdles almost without any complication and checked the chronometer. 10 seconds. She frowned at that. That was the easiest obstacle and she was already losing a sixth part of her time in that. _Maybe I should do it again. _

By the 5th time, she managed to lower the time to 8 seconds. Not the best improvement, but still. She decided then to change tasks. The crawling station was no better though. Her uniform kept getting stuck in the wire and if she got any lower in the ground, she would be swallowing mud for the rest of the month. Disappointing as it was, she had taken 25 seconds to get past that, plus the 5 seconds it took her to get from one obstacle to the other. Her frown deepened. It didn't take a math genius to know she would never have enough time to finish the circuit in less than a minute.

A group of laughing soldiers walked past her. They were laughing at a private joke she just knew had to do something with her. She suddenly felt invigorated once again and she ran to the other side of the obstacle to do it again.

An hour passed and she was still in the same place doing the same exercise over and over again. Her back ached, she had a massive headache from lack of food and the sun had already set. She kept going. He watched from afar as she stopped in the middle of the station when the wire cut through her neck. Her hands immediately flew to the wound, getting it dirty with mud. He signed under his breath and turned around on his heels.

She watched from the other side of the field at his retreating back –"good, let him- go on... uh..."- she cut her forearm- "well that feels nasty"- She wiped her muddy hands on the side of her pants. She did hope it was only mud, it felt kindda soft. _Never mind_- "Yes, just leave, d-do that, I'll be fine on my own, thank you very much"- She cursed as her ponytail got stuck on the wire _again_. Her left hand flew to her hair and she felt as it cut her hand leaving a gash behind. – "Ouch! Better leave it at that then"- She was getting rather frustrated with this whole exercise. What was the point of it anyways?

Her arms felt sore from and the crawling and she decided perhaps it was about time she changed the station. She had been avoiding the whole climbing business for three hours and it was really the one she had most trouble at. She signed. Yes, now was as good time as any to do that. Her stomach rumbled and she was reminded how hungry she'd been all that time. She walked purposefully to the hanging robe and wrapped it around her waist before tucking at it to make sure it was still firmly set. She looked up the wall before cleaning her sweaty hands on her muddied pants. Was she imagining things, or had that wall just grown a few feet while she'd been there? She shook her head. She couldn't see the top, but it was probably because it was already dark outside.

She checked the chronometer hanging around her neck. _There had to be some kind of light function in that thing_, but after a few tries, she decided it was really not that important. She needed to get this whole thing done by the next morning. Her stomach did a few flip flops before she finally got a firm hold of the robe and started climbing; she didn't think much of it and decided it was probably just her because she was hungry.

Ten feet up the robe she realized her boots were not properly laced, in fact, the left one was about to fall off her foot. _Not to worry-_ she thought-_ it won't fall off as soon as I keep my feet to the wall_ It was kind of slippery though. She applied a little more pressure against the wall to adjust it, just as she realized how tired her arms actually were as they started shaking without her consent._ Maybe if she just twisted the robe a little to the_-

-"shit!"- her feet slipped from the wall and she was put down harshly as she hit the wall with a thump! The air was instantly knocked out of her as the robe tightened around her stomach. Maybe doing that hadn't been her best idea ever and _oh god_ was the ground really that far bellow? Her arms shook harder on the effort of having to carry her weight without any added support and her hands still hurt from the burn they had received in the afternoon, but she couldn't breathe with the robe pressed so tight against her sides- "oh god..ohgodohgod!"- She tried to breath, call for help, move, anything, but everything hurt and she knew no one would hear her. They were all either preparing for bed, or gambling in the cafeteria. The tears rolled silently down her face as she realized no one would help her out of this. She made one last attempt to fix the robe around her but she slipped down as her arms shook violently. She was sure by then her hands were bleeding. She groaned in pain as the sudden movement seemed to get her even more tangled in the robe if possible. _Now she couldn't breathe_. She wondered how long it would for someone to find her. _Probably first thing in the morning_, she decided. It was bound to be a grand event too; then again, she'd always been an attention grabber on camp, whether she liked it or not. Her legs were starting to feel numb. _Maybe she would be lucky enough to just faint and die ignorantly blissful_, but it hurt, it hurt too damn much and her feet were already feeling horribly cold from the lack of blood. She should have known this wasn't going to end well.

* * *

><p>Usually he didn't do night strolls <em>inside<em> the facilities but for some reason, he felt like he needed to stay. Sesshoumaru didn't think much of it; he'd lived relying on his instincts for most of his life, so there was really nothing he would do to go against it. She had done it again, she had defied him. If he wasn't so curious about this girl he would have definitely put her in her place a long time ago, but as it was, he _was _curious and if there was one thing he followed more than his instincts, it was his curiosity. Now that it had been awakened, he would not rest until he had all the answers he wanted, therefore, he was really _not_ going out of his way by returning to the obstacle field. It was his nature to wonder and if that eventually led him to her, so be it.

His musings were cut short the minute he set foot in the boundaries of the field, right when his eyes fell on her almost immobile form hanging by the climbing wall. Her arms spasmed involuntarily and her hands fell from her only support. He didn't have time to think or analyze the sudden void in the pit of his stomach as he watched her go limp or the fact that he smelled blood on her. Before any of that registered he was on the other side of the field flying faster than any eyes would be capable of seeing, human or otherwise. In less than a second he was cradling her in his arm against his body. She was cold to the touch, too cold in fact. The moment the thought left his mind, she desperately threw her hands around his neck despite the fact that her lips were turning blue and her arms screamed form the exertion.

Once she held to him, he loosened his hold on her for the second it took him to cut away the robe around her waist. _Did she know nothing about security measures? Or did she just enjoy tempting destiny? _He swallowed down the overwhelming impulse to scream at her. That didn't mean he wouldn't give her a piece of his mind.

-"what were you thinking wrapping that around yourself?"- he barked, as if genuinely curious of her reasoning

- "I thought if I slipped at least the fall wouldn't be that nasty" she was too tired to bother with formalisms.

-"Did it ever occur to you that perhaps you needed someone to look after you while you were climbing up that wall?"- His tone was low but he couldn't help but snap at her

- "well I'm sorry, but I wasn't about to beg any of my so-called comrades to come babysit me while I attempted not to fall on my ass"- She mumbled in his jacket. Her arms shook again as she helped him unwrap the robe from around her waist. She went to resume her previous position when she Suddenly became self conscious of her muddied clothes, her bloody and dirty hands around his neck, her loose shoelaces and her general state of disarray in stark contrast to his clean-shaved, perfectly uniformed self. She probably stank and here he was, standing before her and having the audacity of smelling a lot better than he had any right to. She felt her hands slipping from his neck, but just as quickly, he wrapped his arm firmly around her as he descended to the ground quietly. He set her down, but her legs wobbled under her and she crumbled to the ground.

- "Can you walk?"- He asked her _like he didn't already know the answer_

- "I need a minute"- She answered, not daring to look at his eyes- "thank you"- She added at last

He answered with a noncommittal 'Hn' – as he watched her take a few deep breaths before letting each one of them go. For some reason, he couldn't stop watching her as she went through her little routine. He then remembered she had mentioned at some point she liked to do yoga.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she felt his eyes on her. He was probably getting impatient with her, but she wasn't really in shape for walking right away, moreover, she wanted to finish the exercises.

-"Sesshoumaru-sama, what time is it?"

- "Around Ten"- he replied instantly

- "you don't have to watch over me, I'll go to the dormitories soon enough"-

- "no"- he cut her off. She couldn't help but notice the change in his tone; one minute quiet and formal, the next cold and commanding. She couldn't help her natural response to the last one.

- "What do you mean no?"- She lifted her eyes to meet his, but then realized it didn't really make a difference, it was too dark to make out his features.

- "You will come with me"

-"W-what? Where?"- The heavy sigh that followed told her he was not very tolerant of her multiple questions

- "to your room. You need to have those cleaned before you go to sleep"- He gestured to the cuts in her hand and neck- "and you're frail as a stick so my guess is you bruise rather easily"- She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at that last comment as she took an unnecessary long breath

- "I'll go to the hospital wing on my way to-"-

- "I'm not played for a fool very easily Rin and we both know you won't do that. Now behave and we'll be on our way"

She stood on her feet with a lot of effort, but found she still couldn't walk. He decided to take matters in his own hands. Literally.

* * *

><p><em>This was embarrassing<em>- she decided- and she didn't know whether to feel comforted by his silence or completely humiliated at the fact that he was carrying her bride style through the camp in broad-err…—starlight.

Not for the first time, she thanked the gods the female dorms were always deserted. That had helped her escape the sight of all the soldiers on camp the day they had been attacked in the showers and now it was sparing her the complete embarrassment of being spotted while in the arms of an officer, who she might add, was almost a rock star in camp. _It was unbelievable…_

The way things were going, she would soon have enough material to have her own blog- it would probably be called something like _the unfortunate adventures of Rin in the army…_Maybe she could work a little more on the title. Then again, she thought, _no one would probably believe a word I posted there. _

They came to a stop right under the flickering light in front of her door. She realized he was waiting for something and so she scrambled to get out of his hold falling gracelessly to the floor and injuring her already bruised ribs in the process. He didn't do so much as raise an eyebrow

"I see you were not paying attention as per usual"- his tone was condescending and, she noted, a little amused. When she opened her mouth to objet he extended his hand- "your key, private"

"W-what?"- she squealed- "oh no, no no no no no no nonononono! I…I..."- she swallowed the lump in her throat at the look he was giving her _Definitely not friendly-_ "I...uh... I don't have it on me"

"You don't have a key?"- he repeated, rather unimpressed. When she nodded he crouched until he was face to face with her. She realized this too was an intimidating tactic (_and just how many of those did he have? geeze) - "_then how do you plan to get in, Rin?"

"I...umm…"-_ok so maybe it wasn't the brightest excuse…think think think!- "_I'll ask one of the other girls to let me crash their rooms?"- She finished quietly, shrinking a little more against the door as he seemed to loom closer yet to her face, like a predator.

"Is that so? And tell me, who exactly are you going to tell? I believe all chambers in this section are currently empty except for two and those…"-he sniffed the air briefly- " belong to officers"- he added before she could throw in another lie.

"Ok fine!"- She got her hand inside her breast pocket and pulled out a key attached to a bright Muppet keychain. To say he looked bizarre holding her blue furry keychain between his claws would have been the understatement of the century; he, however, didn't seem to put too much thought into it as he stood smoothly on his feet and opened the door before stepping inside _her_ dorm without a second glance at her. _So much for chivalry_

He was already talking though and she really didn't feel like staying in the hallway's floor much longer

"I see some things never change. It's a wonder you manage to even walk around this dump"- she didn't know if the heat rising to her cheeks was from embarrassment of plain fury. _Who the hell did he think he was?! Coming into her room and criticizing her. _As she entered though, she did a double take at her room _on the other hand, it _was_ rather messy. _She blamed that on the fact that she'd been meaning to do her laundry that day after training, and so, she hadn't bothered to pick up her clothing from the floor for at least a week.

"Ahem! err...yeah…well I wasn't exactly expecting any visitors"- She said defensively and nevertheless picking up her clothes from the floor and dumping them in a basket inside her closet. _Thank god she hadn't left any underwear lying around_. Then her eyes landed on her bed, where a bright magenta colored bra rested right over her pillow. He pretended not to notice and she pretended for a moment this wasn't Sesshoumaru Sato, but instead some dumb guy from her high school. It wasn't really working.

He looked ridiculously out of place standing in the middle of her room in his (now _almost)_ perfectly fit uniform. He looked around for a chair, but upon finding the only one in the room had yet more clothes over it, he settled for the bed instead- "go clean up, I'll wait here"

"W-w-what? you don't have to do that, sir…I'm already here, perfectly fine, see?"- she extended her arms away from her body to show him-"see?"

"Yes, I see just fine you're most definitely not, now don't argue private"- he set his infuriatingly calm golden eyes on her- "that was an order"- he raised a single eyebrow when she prepared to talk again, as if daring her to defy him. She decided she was too tired for that, _that man didn't take no for an answer_

She sighed defeated- "yes sir".

She went to take her stuff as soon as possible and headed to the showers. She knew the faster she finished the better. She didn't exactly feel comfortable having the major on his own in her room. He was a gentleman (for the most part) but she wouldn't put it past him to snoop around in her stuff. _He _did_ think he had the authority to do as he pleased._

* * *

><p>19:37 minutes later found Rin back in her room. To her surprise, the door was locked when she tried to move the handle. She had to remind herself once again he was an officer and she couldn't just chew his head off like she would have done anyone else who dared <em>LOCK HER OUT OF HER OWN ROOM! Deep breaths, deep breaths….<em> She knocked courtly on her own freaking door and fought the urge look at his eyes when he opened it like he owned the damn place. The scene was bizarre to say the least, but she brushed past him like she didn't notice. She was still combing her wet raven tresses and tossed the clothes over her chair to the floor to get a little more comfortable.

He moved from the door and sidestepped the clothes she had just thrown, before he went to stand stiffly beside her.

"What? Is there anything else you want major? I already did as you asked and as much as I… _enjoy _your company and thank you for saving me from a certain death I no longer-"

He was grabbing her arm _why was he grabbing her arm?_ Before she could form any coherent thought he pulled her to her feet and made her turn so she was facing the wall with her back pressed to his chest.

She remained frozen and confused for the few minutes it took him to make his next move.

His hand flew to her hair instead and pulled it to the side.

Now she was confused, but she dared not to move, until he instructed her to pull her hair away from her neck, which admittedly, now that she thought about it, kind of stung. She remembered she had cut it in the obstacle field while she had been crawling.

"How bad is it?"- she asked, not really expecting an answer from him. She planned to put a band aid to it and maybe go to the hospital wind in the morning. _Gosh what was taking him so long? Did he forget she was holding her hair and her arms were killi—"_oh my god, you sick freak! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" She jumped to the other side of her room still gripping the back of her neck where it still felt as if her skin…_burned_

He found himself resisting the urge to roll his eyes at her as he calmly strolled closer to her, until her back was to the wall and he had her at arm's reach

- "does everything really have to be this difficult with you?" She let out an undignified huff

- "oh I'm sorry, did you expect any different? You just-" A hand flew to her mouth and her eyes widened in surprise as she had barely seen it coming

"I would like to remind you, private, it is not customary to have an officer in your dorms. You could get kicked out for this so I suggest you _keep quiet!"- _He almost barked in her ears

He trained his eyes on hers, trying to decide whether to let her go or not, but decided she was probably too shocked to talk, so he let his hand fall down. Her next words were a furious whisper

"Ok fine! But… _Did you just _lick _me?!"_- He raised a hand to the bridge of his nose where a headache was already forming

"Would you rather go to the hospital wing to get stitches for that gash on your neck?- When she was about to protest he continued-" My saliva has healing properties _human"- _he said as way of explanation. _Right, well it does always come back to that, doesn't it?_

"W-well a word of warning would have been nice anyway!- she was still blushing though

"You would have lied"

"I…"-…_point taken-" _well if you're going to do that, I think I'll rather be seated"- she said instead and without another word, she walked past him to sit on the bed. He sat right behind her and they set to the painfully slow task. She tried not to focus on the heat from his breath as it ghosted down her neck, or the firm hand holding her in place by the top of her arm, or his uniform clad right leg bent by her right side or maybe the fact that he was freaking _licking her!_. But as it was, it was extremely difficult to focus on anything else; the dorms were nothing too fancy, there was no were really she could look and she was getting goosebumps from the utter sensuality of what he was doing. She didn't even dare to speak, too afraid her words would come out as a moan. _Now she was sure that was _not_ necessary- _she almost fell off the bed as he stretched her arm with his own and his tongue danced over the cuts he found there. She turned her head the other way, horrified to find the other arm was in a much worse state._ How the hell was she going to survive this?_

The rest of the process went rather smoothly, she only had to suppress the need to squirm under his attentions 4 times. And half an hour later of the most sexually charged encounter she'd ever had with the major (including her very naked run in with him in the showers) he finally let go of her hand and got up from the bed. She would later deny the fact that she was hopelessly aroused by then.

One quick look at the clock on her nightstand told her it was already midnight, so she stood awkwardly by the door as he dusted his uniform and fixed his shirt- not that anyone would notice, it was well past the hour for anyone to be wondering around camp.

"Err... thank you.. for…"- she gestured to her neck, unable to finish the sentence- "ahem!…you know..uh..everything"

He contended with his usual noncommittal "hn" and reached into his jacket for a folded piece of paper.

"I need you to find out whatever you can about this"- he said extending it to her

"Sir?"-

"This is a copy of a letter signed by me the day you were attacked"-he waited for her to open it before continuing- "I authorized a field mission outside of camp. It involved half the soldiers and just as many officers in the area"

"…I'm sorry I'm not following"-

"The mission left the camp unprotected, therefore…"

"Allowing intruders to get past security"

"Indeed"-

"But…"-her eyebrows came together in confusion- "how?..uh…I mean, not to sound disrespectful major, but"- _aren't you supposed to be a master in strategy?-_ "why would you do that?"- she said instead

"That is what I want you to investigate"- he gave her a pointed glance and she succumbed under the pressure to look at the letter again. Then something caught her eye. The signature.

"You…didn't sign this"- it was not a question, but a statement. And now that she took a closer look at it, she wondered how she could have missed it in the first place. She had never actually seen his signature before, but she still had that tiny piece of paper he had attached to the alarm clock and she was more than certain that the long, scrawny and slightly twirled letters were not his. His calligraphy was stylish but not flowery; there was a distinct economy for unnecessary details that only came with practice and patience. If anything, the strokes in the paper she now held in her hand felt anything but fluent. The ink was too dark, which could only indicate a heavy hand as opposed to the easy manner she had come to associate with his writing. _Maybe she had been paying that small slip of paper a lot more attention than she had initially thought. _

"The last attack was a double breach on our defenses. The first was meant to conceal the second one in which you were involved, a distraction".

"But how…"- he took her moment of confusion to draw another paper from his jacket. This one looked a lot more tattered than the last one and had a few points highlighted. He extended it against her hand, pointing to the bright marks.

"These are the places most prone to a security breach of that scale"- he explained meeting her gaze at that moment- "I want you to find out which one they used and how. If there's someone else from the inside helping them, I want to know".

"And how do you suppose I do that?"- _Damn this man and his unattainable demands_

"You doubt your own capabilities?"

"I.. well"- _damn him!-_ "no, but-"-

"Then you'll find a way. I hear you can be quite …creative"- _what the hell was that supposed to mean?_

"I Have training to do you know?"- she almost shrunk back at the way the left corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly

"I will take care of that"- he said a moment later. She was definitely puzzled now- "And Rin..?"- she forced a controlled compliant tone.

"Yes major?"-

"I'll see you tomorrow in front of your locker at 1800. Make sure no one sees you" –he added as he faced away from her to open the door- "and don't be late"-

With that, he left, leaving her standing in front of her closed door for a good 10 minutes, before she remembered she had almost died that day, _twice_ and she really needed to rest. The morning promised to bring an eventful day.

* * *

><p>YAY… a little more awkward moments to come! ;)<p>

_Ah! how I love to write these two characters….r&r_


	10. Chapter 10: as far as Training goes

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

* * *

><p><strong>As Far as Training Goes<strong>

Her first thought upon entering the training field the next morning was _What the hell?_ Followed closely by _it can't be_… and then a little less incredulous _how the hell did he manage to do that?_

There was really nothing out of the ordinary with the training field. And that was exactly what was so wrong with the picture.

All obstacles had been removed and were nowhere to be found. Kouga was missing as well, along with the rest of the sergeants who had been leading the gathered squads the day prior.

The buzz of the whispers all around her told her all she needed to know "I heard they were all summoned by one of the higher officers" said one "I heard they're preparing for a special mission" said the other "I bet this is a test too! They're probably testing our resolve!" "nah! I bet they're just having a late coffee!" so all in all, absolutely nothing. No one knew what was going on. She knew however, there was only one person responsible for this; The major. This had to be his doing 'I'll take care of that' he had said. And boy, he had.

By the time Kouga and the rest of the sergeants returned, the sun was already warm enough to be uncomfortable and the privates were already gambling in small groups here and there, were they thought no one could see them. Kouga didn't skip a beat as he kept started talking like it was just a regular training day.

-ok ladies, here's the deal. There's been a slight change of planes. We're going on a recognition mission, Tactical training. – He ignored the confused looks that followed his statement and proceeded to give away orders for all squads to follow.

He didn't say anything about the reasons behind the sudden change of planes, nor did he bring up Rin's punishment, but he was stiff as an arrow and Rin couldn't help but wonder what the hell had the major done to provoke that reaction. Nevertheless, she was relieved. They all knew she wouldn't be able to finish the whole obstacles in less than a minute, so if he didn't bring it up, she wasn't either.

Later that day Shippo came with the revelation they had been using some faulty equipment and apparently most of the obstacles didn't meet the security measures dictated for training regular soldiers, let alone newcomers.

* * *

><p>Right after training was finished she made some quick excuses and went to investigate the places the major signaled out in the map the day before, the sun was already beginning to set on the horizon when she made it to her destination, but she figured as long as no one saw her, that was not a problem. It was really too much to hope everything that day would go smoothly.<p>

She had been walking in circles near the fences on the east side of camp when a group of soldiers showed up. In a normal day, her presence in that side of camp would have been considered slightly suspicious; this side of camp was reserved for veterans, after all.

In a normal day, she would have probably had to make up a really lame excuse for being in that side of camp or play the dumb little girl card for them to let her off the hook. _In their minds, she was still a stupid schoolgirl after all._ Today, however, she couldn't risk being seen. The major had been very clear on his orders and she thought begrudgingly this time he was probably right. That was why she was currently hiding behind a big barrel of what she could only guess was water (although it did smell kind of funny), right in front of a very drunken group of soldiers she suspected would not be too understanding of her current predicament. She tried to move her legs to get her circulation flowing to her feet, but the little movement nearly had the barrel tumbling over.

"Did you hear that?" said one of them, turning his attention to the very spot where she was crouched against the wall. She really needed to get away from that place as soon as possible.

"Hear what? The crickets?" this one punched the other on the shoulder and swiftly proceeded to light a cigarette. The others were too occupied to care. Apparently it had been a rough day in the training field; Rin had to swallow the lump in her throat when one of them reached behind his back to pull off his shirt. Damn! She'd only seen abs like that on movies! She briefly wondered if all soldiers were bound to end up like that.

"Not the crickets Morgan! I think I saw something moving right there"_ shit! Don't come any closer!- _She tried to shrink further in the already suffocating space, but it was nearly impossible, if they decided to investigate, she would be screwed.

"Oh man! You're making no sense. First the whole seeing a girl ghost near the fences and now you're hearing them too?" the man seemed to blush under the other's gazes until shirtless guy bounced from the lodge he'd been sitting on up until that moment and slapped the other on the shoulder

"Come on Harrison! Loosen up a bit! No one comes to this side of camp ever! It's going to be fine!" he leaned his weight on the one she now knew as "Harrison" and tipped his head back to take a swing of his beer. "besides, I thought this was about helping you out of that stupid daze you've been on for days" She couldn't see much, but she was pretty sure Harrison's blush had just gotten a shade or two darker.

The other three snickered at the soldier's obvious mortification and little by little the tension eased, they forgot all about the noise or movement the soldier had perceived and they dismissed it as drunk rambling, even though it was pretty obvious it was not he who had had more to drink.

She spent the next two hours hiding behind the stupid barrel listening to their drunken rambles on a white dressed maiden (apparently Harrison had been struck pretty hard by the not-so-certain-if-she's-real girl he'd been mooning about for the last week) trashing on other soldiers and talking some more about some sugar-nippled girl at the town's diner. …_Ugh_. It had only been less than a day and she was already sounding like them in her head. She really needed to get out of that place.

A quick look at her watch told her that yes; she was already late for her meeting with the major _by two hours. Huh…Well if he didn't already hate her guts he would surely now._

She could almost hear him in her mind

-"I would ask what the hell you think you're doing, but it would be pointless seeing as it is plainly obvious you are incapable of thinking "- huh…well she didn't really think those would be the words he said, but it did sound an awful lot like him. Why has everyone gone silent all of a sudden? Then an incoherent string of words came all at the same time stumbling one over the other

-m-m-Major!—"

-Sir! I swear we didn´t me—"

-I'm so so so deeply sorry for—"

She lifted her head an inch to look through the crack between the barrels in front of her to the sudden realization she had not been imagining things, It _had_ been the major speaking. Her sudden joy at the prospect of finally getting out of that place vanished as soon as she got a glimpse of his grim expression. He was not pleased. And she had stood him up. And—

-"Silence!"- he demanded coldly. She cringed on the inside, and prayed to any available god to help her get out of there unnoticed. So far she'd done a pretty good job, but she didn't miss the way her stomach suddenly clenched painfully against her insides. She had learned to take that as a sign of bad things to come and really, she had been around him enough to recognize that particular tone. It meant if it weren't illegal, he wouldn't mind killing people from time to time. He walked two steps between the gathered soldiers as they tried to unsuccessfully hide the evidence of their little escapade while another one scrambled to put on his undershirt under the heavy gaze of their superior

- "Who will I make responsible for this?"- he asked _damn, did he really have to be so creepy?_ She swore Morgan was a step away from wetting his pants. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost being the key word. At the moment, she was much too preoccupied with her own wellbeing to just give away concern for others. He looked livid, in a way that promised slow painful death by his bare hand. Not good, not good at all…

She realized during her little escapade to the brighter parts of her brain the major had been delivering the means for punishment for those present. _Great_ now she didn't even know what to expect. The guys looked pretty pale though. And really, no one was talking

_Just what did he say?! _Her nerves were really killing her, she should have known better than to miss something so vital.

-"what are you waiting for? I said leave!"- he bellowed. Oh god…not good notgoodnotgood he never yells.

In fact, the closest she'd heard life a yell from him was… uh…no. He just didn't raise his voice. ever. He was mad.

She tried to blend in the shadows, the shrunk as far away from the crack of light as she could. Hoping with all her might he wouldn't realize she was there. She squeezed her eyes shut and put her right hand over her nose and mouth, not quite caring it was dirty and swollen from all the time she'd been resting it against the ground.

She should have known better.

Five nerve wrecking minutes later and still nothing. Could it be? Had she managed to escape him? She opened her eyes in the dark of the small place where she laid. As silently as humanly possible, she lifted her eyes to heaven, sending a silent prayer to the stars before she moved her head closer to the crack once more. What she saw made her blood freeze in her veins.

He hadn't moved an inch from his spot. In fact, she would have thought he was a statue, if not for the fact that he was staring right back at her. Had she not been still clamping a hand to her mouth, she might have screamed. That didn't stop however the very strangled almost unnoticeable noise she made in the back of her throat. She retracted in a jump back to the shadows, squeezing her eyes shut as if that would chase him away. But it was too late, he knew she was there and if he hadn't she wasn't foolish enough to stay and find out if he'd heard her.

Only she never got to actually run, because the moment she opened her eyes, he was there, four inches separated his heated furious stare from her shaking form. And Really… who had she been kidding? This was the man who had survived an explosion strong enough to destroy a small town. This was also the man who had told her specifically not to be late and not to be seen. She'd almost screwed both of them today.

She didn't have much time to think of that before he grasped the front of her uniform and pulled her up to him in a standing position.

Her legs protested as a rush of blood violently flowed through her to her very asleep and sore muscles, but she could really care less. Sesshoumaru Sato might have been a lot of things, but he had never manhandled her (at least not physically). This was new and foreign and the way he was looking at her was all sorts of murderous (if only a little bit arousing)

He was seizing her uniform, so that was probably not good. Now was not the time to think of his very commanding and most definitely suffocating presence. She tried to swallow the lump around her throat. It didn't really work, but her sudden movement seemed to have moved something in the thick atmosphere surrounding them

"Where you planning on running away from me, Rin?"

"S-Sesshoumaru-sama? I w-" the words died in her mouth before she could utter them. She decided it was probably a rhetorical question, since he obviously did know what she'd tried to pull off. She decided not to try her luck any further.

"Would you like to explain yourself private?"- he mocked. She tried to bite her tongue. She really did, but there was something about this man that simply had her always walking on her tiptoes or turning into a complete uneducated schoolgirl.

"Why would I ever? It's not like you will hear a word of it"

He pulled her closer still until she could actually feel his breath fanning her face.

-"try me, human"- She registered his words, his tone, the tight grip on her chest and of course the fact that he was singlehandedly lifting her off the ground without the slightless bit of effort. Still no words came out- "well?"-he barked. She flinched a little under his scrutiny, but at last, her words came out barely a whisper

- "I'm sorry"-

Had it been any other day, and had she not been in such predicament, she might have actually delighted at the utter shock in his face. As soon as it came, though, it was gone. Instead, he let her fall to the floor and turned his back on her, to start walking to the west wing. He didn't say anything and he didn't accept her apology, but she didn't need any of them. She knew what he wanted, and so, once she could no longer see him, she went to follow him.

* * *

><p><em>Maybe she'd been too quick to judge his good will<em>. She forced her arms to move just in time to block a blow aimed directly to her face. They were already giving out, and she hadn't even been with him for more than an hour. As soon as the wooden katanas made contact with one another, he withdrew from the attack and asserted a swift hit to her side which had her tumbling over for the hundredth time that evening.

OK, so maybe she had it coming. He had said to be punctual; she just didn't think he would take it so personally. She was sure she wouldn't be able to move by morning. He really did know how to use a… _ugh..ok, so no going there_

"Focus!"- he barked for the… (she'd lost time how many) time- the room moved a little around her but she blamed it on her inability to predict his moves.

"I'm… trying! Damn it! what did you expect? I've never…"- she ducked to the left as the hilt of his not-so-safe-to-be-made-of-wood katana swifted by her shoulder just where her neck had been a mere second before- "are you insane?! Do you want to kill me?"- She didn't care he was her superior, he was playing dirty and she was really past his titles now.

"Don't be ridiculous, if I wanted to, you would have died as soon as I laid my eyes on you"- she would later deny just how her body reacted to the thought of him laying his eyes on her. Then she remembered that small piece of information he had let slip on the medical ward when he was talking about the poison they used to keep his aura on check. He then asserted a particularly hard strike which made her whole body tremble and tumble back to the floor as she dropped the weapon as easily as if it she had never even tried to hold it.

"do you see now? just like that"- as she scrambled to pick up her own katana as soon as she realized in which position she was, but the headache she'd tried to qualm on a few aspirins on their way there was coming back full force and despite her effort to stay focused all through their training, she realized she was actually feeling just a little bit worse.

Still, she met his eyes defiantly as she stretched her hand to reach for the wooden katana, only to stop short as his own weapon found its way to her throat, right under her chin. She tried unsuccessfully not to feel like a helpless worm in his presence. He had the audacity to look down at her in a condescending way (and mind you, she'd had her fair share with Kouga) this was just another level of his usual arrogance.

-" Yield"- he commanded, like someone who's perhaps a little too used to getting his way. She tried to bend her back to get free on his more-than-just-emotional scrutiny. He pressed the edge of the katana harder against her throat, until she couldn't move.

"How long do you plan to keep this up?"

"It was you who requested this"

"Does it annoy you that I did?"

"You need discipline"- it wasn't really much of an answer

"Do I, _sir_?"- a small voice in the back of her mind told her not to tempt her luck like that, but it was weak at best.

"…It will happen, no matter how set you are on not allowing it"- he said, ignoring completely her tone

"Is that what happens to everyone who comes in the army? Or just the people who come in your way, major?"

"Both"- he replied shortly, clenching his yaw against the urge to snap at her. For some reason, Rin seemed set on disrespecting him that day and he didn't like the familiar tone she was using with him.

"Bet that must make you really proud"

"It is convenient"

"Am I convenient?"

…

She dared take a look at his suddenly stiff posture. She sighed; That was all she needed to see to know he wouldn't answer so she decided that was about a good time as any to take his offered hand.

He pulled her up without effort and came took her by the shoulders when she swayed on her feet

Have you had anything to eat, private?

I thought you preferred to call me Rin- she said a little dazedly as she let a small giggle escape her.

"I will take that as a no".

"You can take it any way you like"- she responded, drunken from the exertion and finding she didn't really care how ridiculous she sounded at the moment.

"Charming"- he spat

"You really think so, major? I find you quite charming…just not in the conventional way"- He seemed taken aback by her sudden… (and here, He almost did a double take) should he call it flirting?

"You are not in a right state of mind"- He said, suddenly feeling very tired and wary of her

"Are you quite sure of that? I feel pretty good, you know".

"I'm sure you do"- he replied sarcastically

"Well, it's not like you know me or anything!" the nerve of that man! What? he trained her for a few hours and now he knew her _pff.. as if!_

"I know you enough"

"How come? Have you been stalking me or something?"She was starting to get curious now.

"I think it's time for you to leave, Rin"

"Ah, so now we're back to Rin?" how dare he use her name like that? It made her feel like a little girl and no, she was not that.

"We are not back to anything, that is your name and I will address you in any way I see fit"

"What would you like to address me then?" her tone was all kinds of defiant and he stopped short for a minute when he realized she was acting unlike herself, almost as if…

"Have you been drinking?"- He raised his eyebrow suspiciously

Are you going to punish me if I say yes?- Her left eyebrow rose in a clear sign of challenge and she came a little closer to him. He resisted the automatic reflex to move. Instead he stood stiff as an arrow as she came closer to him, then she tried to run her hands through his chest he grabbed her hands with his own and dropped them from him a little more harshly than he originally intended. He hated not knowing what to expect from her and she always seemed to be in the mood to surprise him. This was a little bit different though, even for her "I've only had an aspirin...or two" she giggled

He sniffed the air around her, discerning her strawberry scented hair from her sweat, from her own personal scent and then, of course, there it was. He wondered briefly how he hadn't noticed that before. Rin had been crouching behind barrels of a barely perceptible (for humans) toxin and she had obviously been too close to the fumes. The aspirins probably only made it worse. He resisted the urge to run his hands trough his face.

He considered his options and what he now had in his hands; Despite the rumors, Sesshoumaru Sato was not an insensible man. Yes, he had little regard for many things and he cared for an even smaller amount of things, but he was not completely heartless. While she was by no means under his care, he did not enjoy doing what he had to, but if she kept running her hands through his scalp he might do something they would both regret, so he had no choice. He unclenched his right fist by his side and his hand slowly found its way to the back of her neck. She flashed him a mischievous smirk and he took a second to admire it and the way his body seemed to react to such little gesture. He smirked back andbefore she could take a step closer, he twisted his hand and she let her fall limp before him.

* * *

><p>Onigumo had been having fun for the last few weeks. Call it a strike of luck or simple coincidence, but his new neighbor was proving to be exactly what he needed to set the next part of his plan in motion. The old man didn't even seem to notice anything wrong with his new acquaintances (then again, if he had to live is such poor excuse for town more than a year, he would befriend a wild bear just to keep him company) As it was however, his neighbor didn't seem to have any trouble getting along with anyone, he was nice to the point of nausea and rather talkative when given a chance to speak. All in all, he was a rather reclusive man, which only made his job so much easier. He didn't have to involve anybody else and he was fairly certain the man would not whisper a word to a soul about his…unconventional questions. Maybe his daughter would be a problem. She seemed to be connected to the army. But he really couldn't get the man to shut up about how great and lovely Rin was (even with the horrible mistake she's made) not that he wanted to, really.<p>

He discovered recently they wrote to each other on regular basis and Mr. Suzuki was losing his sight in the most literal sense of the word. It was only too convenient when he came to Onigumo one day with the request to help him write a letter to his little girl. She apparently was not having a great time in the army (but that was to be expected) and he needed to remind her she could always come home. She was after all, a rather sweet girl in a world made for tough men. Suzuki truly didn't know what had possessed her to take on such life (which he was forced to agree to heartily, because that's the way he supposed parents.. err… regular parents, that is, felt when their daughters decided to join the army). Since the afternoon wasn't yet over and they still had a letter to write, the old man decided to share some of his previous exchanges with his daughter. He would have killed the bastard on the spot had he not needed him (and his daughter) to bridge some connections to the army and the townspeople. All changed however when Suzuki explained his biggest worry came in the form of one of Rin's superior. Apparently a man so horrible Rin (who never spoke ill of anyone) hadn't had any choice but to tell him of what a hell it was to be under the command of a Certain Sesshoumaru Sato.

That afternoon Onigumo wrote the letter to his heart's content (if he ever had one) and afterwards invited his new best neighbor over for dinner. After all, It wasn't everyday that luck smiled his way.

* * *

><p>Rin woke up in her bed with no recollection of how she got there, or when she had fallen asleep in the first place. She opened her eyes and realized when a little voice in her head told her the dorms weren't quite so bright, and they usually smelt… not like she'd bleached the entire place. She blinked furiously to clear her eyes, and little by little the room came into focus. Yep, definitely not in her room, instead, she was in the soft padded section of floor in an otherwise wooden covered room she vaguely recognized. There was a soft but very annoying buzzing in her ears which she soon realized was building up to a massive head ache.<p>

She pressed her hands to her temples willing it to go away, but already knowing it wouldn't. Her uniform was as dirty as it had been last time she had seen it, and her boots were a shake away from falling off her feet. In the distance, she saw a pair of broomsticks laying on the floor, just where the soft padding met the harder wooden floor.

She took a deep breath as she tried to remember what exactly had happened.

"I see you woke up from your nap"- she heard, at the same time she registered the slow, barely perceptible steps on the parquet floor.

"What time is it?"- she asked, ignoring his condescending tone- "…sir?"- she added as an afterthought.

"When you address a superior you will do so standing private"- he hissed coldly. she wondered idly what had she done to deserve such treatment; then again, he did have some very charming personality traits.

"Oh come on major, I feel like I got dragged from the back of a truck for a hundred miles with only my head to take the damage. Couldn't we drop the formalities for a bit?"

When the room fell silent again Rin decided to raise her eyes and look up at him. He didn't seem to have taken her comment very well. Not that he showed it, particularly, but she had always been rather good at reading small signs. For example the fact that his jaw was clenched to the point she thought she could actually see the veins and muscles accommodating to the very unnatural position, his taut posture and of course the fact that there was blood dripping on the flawless floor from where his clenched claws met the soft flesh of his hand. He didn't say anything, so she assumed he was either preparing to strike her or waiting for her to stand up.

On the off chance that he might actually let go of her little offense, she decided to stand up and repeated the question.

"It's already past midnight"- he provided, though his tone was deceptively calm- "would you also like to know how you got here, Rin?"- Now she was she that was a completely sure that was a trick question. She didn't know where it would take her to admit that had actually been the next question on her mind.

She looked him up and down suspiciously, while he dared her to ask what she so obviously wanted to know. In the end, her curiosity won over her better judgment.

"Yes sir, if you would be so kind to let me know".

"You lost consciousness" He conveniently decided to leave out _ how _that had happened. He knew she wouldn't dare ask.

"I w-?..."- she stopped before she could as the very next question on her mind, she knew that was exactly what he was waiting for- "err.. I mean, that is unfortunate"-

"Indeed"- he said, almost too casually. She knew he was leaving something out

"Did I…"-she wiped her suddenly sweaty hands on her pants, suddenly feeling very stupid. She had that very embarrassing tendency to sometimes speak in her sleep. She cleared her throat discretely- "did I say anything while…"- She didn't want to finish the sentence. He did, however caught up quickly, which could only mean she had done something embarrassing in her less conscious hours.

"No"- He replied and the relief in her face most have shown because then he cast her a triumphant little smile before responding - "You did however…hold my leg when I came closer"- _oh oh_- "then, you attacked my foot with you incessant snuggling"- he continued, ignoring her horrified expression- "you…"- he made a pause in which he pretended to think over what he was next going to say- "drooled on my pant"- _this could not be happening_- "and then started purring some nonsense about some little ball of fur"- she was convinced right then and there if there was a god, it either hated her, or really loved to laugh at her- "so tell me Rin, when exactly did you start addressing me as fluffy?"- _Shit. _

No one was supposed to know about that! She'd privately started referring to him as such out of sarcasm. He was the least huggable person she knew, no matter the small incident in the hospital wing, she knew the major was anything _but_ fluffy.

"Sir, I don't"-

"Ah, but I think you do, so let me make this clear to you. I will not stand for any kind of foolishness from you and I do not tolerate tardiness"- damn. He made it sound like she had done it on purpose

"I'm sorry"

"I also do not care for apologies private"-

"But I didn't even mean to.."-

"This is the army, not a help group, If you want that, you're looking for it in the wrong place"- Then he turned on his heels and left the room. He'd said he didn't care for her apologies; The fact that he had apparently allowed her to leave after that, however, said pretty much the contrary.

She made a run for the female dorms and as soon as she entered the room, she fell asleep. Dealing with the major always left her feeling a little drained.

-.-

* * *

><p>AN: so far, so good, sorry for the delay, this chapter's been half writen for a while now, but it wasn't even decent and I was going through a llittle bit of a writer's block. here's the good news though, I already have started writing the next two chapters!

_spoilers_: training days are not over! )

Let me know what you think :)


	11. Chapter 11: private affairs

**Disclaimer:** This is only for entertainment purposes; I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

**Private affairs**

Two weeks later Rin appeared before him at the same hour they had started training the first day. He had said 6, but apparently, she liked 9 better. He decided he wouldn't waste his breath reminding her of that, so for the time being, he let it slip.

Rin wasn't really sure what to think of the training hours they spent together, she didn't feel like she was making any sort of progress, if anything, it only made the training hours during the day all the more difficult, since she was sore all the time and barely had any time to sleep. She snapped back into focus the exact moment his weapon connected to the hilt of her sword. _Bokken _she corrected in her mind, he had made sure she remembered that.

When she recovered her balance she positioned herself to attack once again. Sometimes she wondered if it would have been better to just wait until _he_ did. It would probably make no difference, she stumbled and fell over constantly, but he showed no mercy and kept on attacking her sides. He also used that time to questioned her on her little spy adventures around camp. He was serious about this, so she in turn did her best not to follow the immediate reflex to run back to her dorms. She had a feeling he'd follow her there.

Her legs hurt pretty badly from last night's session, not to mention the training day she'd had with Kouga and the rest or her wonderful squad. Ginta and Hakkaku were really asking for some massive kick in the ass (even if it was just in her imagination) but really, they were. Leaving them aside though, the rest of them were just as mean, just not that annoying. The only two she could actually depend on, she already knew from before. Nevertheless, she was grateful for Shippo and Kohaku as it seemed little by little, something like a friendship had been struck between the three of them. Which bought her to the latest predicament; she couldn't tell them about the major (and she was really not used to keeping secrets) but she needed to somehow let out all the things she'd been keeping to herself. Her father had always encouraged her carefree honesty and she felt a little out of sorts having to play the sneaky agent when all she wanted to do was run and laugh and scream and… she was really going to have to come up with a good story.

Shippo had apparently gone to visit her the night before, so she had had to tell him something about turning early to bed since she wasn't feeling so good, how he fell for _that_ she didn't know, the words sounded fake even to her own ears. Then, to her further embarrassment, she realized some of the other members of the squad had been listening intently to her obvious lie and seemed to be quite enjoying the show. She had stuttered something about her having a snotty nose and a terrible flu before she her legs caught up with her brain and she made a hasty retreat from him.

It had been Kohaku, however, the one who had gotten her some soup to get her to feel better. She had wanted to kick herself for that since she completely _hated_ soup, then she'd tried to convince him that she was ok, but instead, Kohaku had stayed until she finished it and then when (after a long suffering sipping of the hideous chicken-smelling concoction) she reluctantly thanked him, he got up and left like his pants were on fire. Things were getting weird, that was for sure.

She brought her eyes up the moment one particularly well aimed bow (and that was a lot to say, considering it was _him) _sent her straight to the floor on her back. She lost her grip on the bokken she'd barely been holding against him until then and stared up at his cold, unforgiving eyes. She thought she saw a smug little smile tucking at the corners of his mouth, but from the distance, it might as well just have been shadows dancing on his ridiculously perfect face. She sometimes forgot mere months ago; he had been lying on a bed bandaged within an inch of his life.

– "Yield"- He ordered.

She just hated it when he imposed on her like that. Then again, he was the only one remotely capable of making her at least think she needed follow an order. Not this one though. She met his gaze heatedly, and he raised an eyebrow at her apparent rebellion. It seemed he had underestimated her again.

"You know I'm not going to do that Sir"-

He narrowed his eyes as she unknowingly acknowledged his title and insulted him all at the same time. He seemed to consider her for a moment and just for a split second, she thought he would let go. Instead, he crouched low before her and taunted her with the tip of the wood still dangerously close to her neck

"What makes you think you have a choice?"- He asked cocking his head just a little to the side in a way that seemed to imply he was rather mocking her

"I always have a choice"- she retorted- "and I say no"

"This is not a game you little human. When are you going to understand that?"

"I'm not taking it as a game!"- She replied, deciding not to comment on his side _Human_ comment

"Is that so?"- He leaned back a little and she took the opportunity to support her weight on her elbows, still wary of his bokken. She realized he was using his advantage position to look down on her and for some reason, that made her angry. She should have been used to that by then, specially coming from him; he probably had too many people kissing his ass that he didn't remember how to be humble.

She assessed the distance between them, his choice weapon in his right hand, the one farthest from her and the fact that he was balancing precariously in the tips of his feet, as he had decided to crouch before her. Her eyes flashed to his momentarily and she thought she saw a flicker of something in his eyes, but didn't stop to think of it as her hand connected to the side of the wood, taking it away from herself before she threw all her weight forward and pushed her arms hard to his chest in an attempt to throw him off. Only then did she realize he had been waiting for it all along. As soon as her hands came in contact with him, he wrapped his arm around her middle and flipped her upside down, raising to an standing position so fast she barely had time to register the world coming upside down before her eyes.

The sudden movement made her stomach turn and she started to feel lightheaded as all the blood travelled to her head.

How the hell could he dominate her with only one arm, she didn't know. Then again, he had carried her all the way from the training fields to her rooms once. Still, she refused to submit. Not to him, not like this, but might as she tried, she couldn't free herself. _Ok, so maybe she had run right into that one_. Literally.

"Is there any way we can continue tomorrow?"- She pleaded

"Is that the best you can do?"- Right, of course he would say something like that. She tried to remember what little she knew of personal defense and body combat and an image of miss congeniality suddenly popped up in her head. She wasn't that much of a fool to think that would work on him, she needed something more ingenious for him. And fast too, before her ears started to bleed. She chanced a look to his expectant eyes and decided to improvise with what she had, so instead of using her raw force, she turned her head as much as her strained neck allowed it and licked his jaw.

Needless to say, he let her go. So forcefully in fact, that had she not been expecting it, she would have surely stomped her face to the floor (and probably broken her neck), as it was, She barely had time to get her arms out before she hit the floor._ Thank god for high school gymnastics._

Sesshoumaru stood frozen for a minute, it could have been seconds, he didn't know for sure. He took a deep breath to regain his bearings before she could even notice how much she'd shaken him. Now he was angry. _How dare she pull off something like that?_ He _was_ a demon after all and she'd just played with his instincts like it meant nothing. And now she had the audacity to laugh at him.

"See how you like that when it's being done to you! Hah!"- _She did it! She'd finally managed to up him! she'd-_

Her triumphant smile fell off her lips the moment he turned his very livid eyes on her. She didn't know how to interpret that particular gaze, but she did imagine she had to run now. She barely had time to pick up her bokken and run out the door before she heard the wood coming in contact loudly with the door she had just closed, followed by his angry self as he slammed open the door to the hallway and took her by the front of her uniform before and pressed her against the wall like she were nothing more than a rag doll. She imagined for him, it didn't really make too much of a difference.

-"you better listen to me very well, you little insolent girl"- he hissed right in front or her face- "You will not. _Ever_. Attempt to do something like that again"- he shook her against the hard brick wall for each word that left his mouth, then he leaned menacingly closer to her _as if it wasn't enough psychological terror he was putting her through_- "is that understood private?"- She was having trouble focusing on what he had just said, what with the way he threatened that made her feel more like he got physical pleasure out of it. Or like was trying to seduce her in a really rough way. She didn't think he would be rough type, then again, what _was _his type? That man was full of surprises. She really had to stop thinking like that. He was looking at her like he wanted to strangle her. That definitely shouldn't turn her on. But it was. That was most disturbing. It wasn't helping the fact that she knew him a little and while scary, she also found him quite sexy when he was angry. It seemed to suit him and she marveled at the fact that anything she did seemed to get a reaction out of him.

-"why not?"- Her eyes widened comically as she heard the words escape her mouth without a single bit of decorum. She hadn't intended to say that. She really hadn't. For a moment, she thought he would snap her neck, instead he seemed taken aback by her less-than-common reaction to his many threats.

He narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly and she held her breath when he tightened his hold on her uniform, only to release her a moment later she could almost hear the fabric of her uniform sighing in relief. He realized for the second time that evening, she had managed to get her way whether she was conscious of what she was doing or not, he decided now was not the time to find out.

He had been played twice and he didn't like it. He was sure those little games of hers only had any effect because he was too honorable to take advantage of her, though. He would have to teach her not to play with fire.

"Leave"- he ordered, before he bent to pick up the discarded bokkens and went back inside the room unceremoniously throwing the door open,

Rin stood alone in the hallway staring silently at the closing door. _Well he's in a bright mood._

_-.-_

She entered the room that night to find an envelope had been slipped under her door in her absence. She picked it up and her face lit up with a smile when her fingers ran through the familiar textured paper of the letter. She opened it impatiently, not caring much when she nearly tripped on some clothes on the floor for not paying attention.

_My Dearest Rin:_

_I hope you have at least figured out a little how to deal with your squad mates, you'll have to bear with them, they're probably not used to having such lovely people around. I hope everything is better now, did you receive the money I sent you last week? _She huffed at that, already feeling a little offended. Yes, she had received the money and she had decided to put it back in his account as soon as she had it. She didn't know where he'd gotten the money, but she was pretty sure he'd be needing it more than she did. She shook her head and kept on reading. _I know it's not much, but I'll find a way to make it work, I promise._

_You'll be happy to know tomorrow I'll be going on a trip with the neighbors again, Naraku has promised to show me some caves he and his family have explored for a while now._ Rin did a double take here. Did her father not remember she knew he was almost blind at the moment? Why did he keep saying all these things about trips and sightseeing and so on when it was painfully obvious he couldn't even see any of those things? She decided to ignore that.

_I thought since you're having a little bit of a problem with your squad, now would be a good time as any to bond with them, so I decided to postpone the thanksgiving for the time being, I hope that's ok with you. I know you wanted to come home for the holidays, but there's so much to be done before Christmas, I think it would be best to concentrate on that. _

_In the time being, I want you to give it your best to all things they ask of you, honey. Make your father proud. _Ugh? She turned the envelope over in her hands, verifying that yes, it was her father's name on the sender address. Wasn't he the one saying she should come back home just a week before?

_I have it from good sources the army can be very rewarding for those who strive to achieve more, I hope you are at least trying, but if you ever feel like it's too much, use some help. Have you kept in contact with the Uchiha boy? . _Huh?She quirked an eyebrow, since when was her father interested in Kohaku? They'd barely seen each other once or twice in school reunions. She kept reading-_ He seemed nice enough, not that I'm implying anything, but you should always keep your friends close to you. If it turns out to be something else, I wouldn't complain either, you know you're free to take your own choices sweetheart. That boy though, he seemed to really care for you, maybe you should give him a chance-_ she face-palmed at that. She really didn't want to know how her father had come to the conclusion that she was anything with Kohaku.

_Only if you want though, don't let this old man invade your personal love life, It would be nice to know beforehand, in case I have to set another place in the table when you two come for Christmas. I heard he has a lovely sister, you could invite her two, if it makes you feel more comfortable. _

What!?

She massaged her temples and counted to ten, thinking of the best way to tell her father she was not bringing anyone over for dinner, let alone Kohaku _or _his sister. Gosh

The knock on the door understandably took her a little by surprise. She checked the clock by her bed, it marked 11:37...pm. Who the hell would knock on her door at that hour?

She shouldn't have really been surprised. He _did_ have the habit of going everywhere he pleased when he pleased and getting her somewhat mixed in his crusades, but she was in fact very surprised when she opened the door to his regal presence. Hadn't she just left him less than an hour before?

"Major"-

"Rin"-

"I would say I know exactly why you're here, but it's really not my style to lie for no reason, so tell me, what brings this lovely surprise?"

He ignored her sarcasm and stepped inside her dorm._ Sure, Enter if you want, make yourself at home_

He didn't say anything for a full 5 minutes, she was beginning to get impatient. Not that he wasn't always a most interesting visit, but last time he'd been in her room he'd _licked_ her. And she'd kindda maybe liked it a little bit. He wasn't there for a repeat though, he'd chosen to sit in the corner of her bed, but his posture was far from comfortable, in fact, she dared say he looked even more stiff than usual (and that was saying a lot, considering the character)

"Is everything ok major?"- She already knew the answer, she just felt she needed to say something. Anything, really.

"Do you recognize this?"- He said- taking a small yellow object from the inner pocket of his uniform vest. He set it on the chair in front of him, waiting for her answer. She furrowed her eyebrow and came closer to inspect what he had just laid down in front of her. She went rigid instantly

"Where did you get this?"

"That's not important"

"What do you mean it's not important? How the hell did my diary find its way to your hands?!"

"Now it's not the time"- he replied shortly, already losing his patience

"Oh really? When is it going to be then?"- he opened his mouth to reply but instead let her go on with her little outburst when he realized she wasn't finished-"oh my god, tell me you didn't read it"

"Of course I did"

The color drained from her face, she suddenly felt dizzy, but most of all, she was going to KILL HIM . How dare he?! How-!

"What are you doing?"- he was picking up the letter from her father and brought it before his eyes as if it was the most interesting piece of paper he'd ever seen. _Oh no.. No no no nononono!_ It was enough that he'd read her diary, but at least she'd written all those things years (well… ok, only 2 years) ago! He was not about to read in her private life like that!- let go of that!

"Be quiet!"- He hissed, while moving the letter far away from her reach.

"Give me back my letter! That's private!"- He only furrowed his brows

"It's not"- He replied calmly, as if he'd just come to a sudden realization

"It is! And you have no right to see that, you might be my superior but this is my room and you're invading my privacy! She whispered furiously"- She was mad, but she was not stupid. He had already kicked her ass once that night. She reached for the letter again and he moved it out of her reach once again, this time, he rose to his full height, never taking his eyes off the paper. Then, to her utter astonishment, he _sniffed_ it and if that wasn't shocking enough, the fact that his eyes became sullen certainly did.

"Who sent this to you?"

"Huh?! Now you want to know who sent it? Would you like to see what I was going to reply as well?"

"Rin.."- he warned

"My father sent it!"- She snapped, not caring the least bit that she was acting like a brat. If he was going to act like that, she was entitled to respond as she saw fit- "are you happy now?"

"Far from it"- He admitted, but didn't lift his eyes, he was once again examining the envelope

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, unless your father's a terrorists, someone's writing these letters from him"-

Well she didn't know how to respond to _that. But, how..? _Before she could say anything, the major tucked the letter in the pocket which moments before had been occupied by her diary and moved to the door

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to take my leave"- he said, it was his eyes, however the ones that spoke volumes. He was done with her questions.

"You're not going anywhere with my letter".

"I thought I just told you it wasn't written by your father".

"And you also told me not to let anyone near my letters, I think that includes you, major"- he clenched his fist by his side, hating that she was using his words against him.

"This is dangerous Rin".

"I'll take my chances"- she said, extending her hand in front of him so he gave her the letter.

"I won't".

"I'm sorry, I don't remember asking you".

"I'm your superior and you will do as I say"- He deadpanned

"I'm an innocent girl and you're not supposed to be here at these hours _sir"-_ His eyes flashed red at her statement and she tightened her right fist behind her back while they had a most heated staring contest since the medical wing. She held her breathing and prayed she wouldn't call her out on her bluff. Of course she wouldn't tell on him, that would only make everything worse for her. Still, she needed some leverage.

"You wouldn't dare"

"Take that letter and I will do a lot more than dare"- he raised an eyebrow at that, so understandably, when his hand went for the door handle, she found she wasn't as tired anymore and pushed him hard against the door, intent on getting the letter by force if necessary. Or she would have, if he wasn't completely impossible to catch by surprise. Where he'd been standing before, she was now pressed between the door and the major. His hand tightened against her wrist where she'd put it inside his uniform jacket, just about to get the letter from his chest pocket.

"You might want to stop that, before you hurt yourself"

"Sure, give me back what's mine".

"Don't be difficult"- He hissed, already tired of the argument. She could be so stubborn sometimes.

"I'm the difficult one? Ever since you showed up I've got nothing but trouble and they just seem to escalate every time you decide to drop by. So tell me, how am I being the difficult one?"

"Rin, you don't know what you're getting yourself into. You cannot keep sending letters so carelessly"

"I can and I will. There's nothing you can do to stop it"

He tightened his jaw until she see his muscles flexing underneath the surface, but then he let go of her hand and she took that as an invitation to push his jacket to the side, before taking the envelope out. She cleared her suddenly dry throat and hurried to fix the jacket back where it had been moments before, never once lifting her eyes from his chest.

-"Rin…"- he warned. She met his gaze dead on.

-"why did you come here major? I mean, really. You could have waited until tomorrow to show me that diary and if you read it, that means you've had it for a while now"-

- "wrong. I've only had it for the past hour. I wasn't certain it was yours".

- "And what gave it away?"- He tightened his jaw again and she knew he wouldn't answer, as always.

- "Fine, don't tell me, it's not like I was expecting any different"- She put her hand in the door handle behind her and waved her hand, gesturing for him to leave

- "I needed to make sure"- he said and then he took a step closer to the door, practically trapping her against it on his way out

-"What does that even..?-"

- "I needed to make sure you were safe"- she was quite frankly flabbergasted. _Well there he goes again, throwing her off like he did it for sport._ She blinked and opened her mouth to say something but no sound came out. In the back of her mind, she registered the light coming from the hallway as he opened further and stepped out into the hallway- "Good night Rin".

A minute passed when she remembered to breath. Then five more minutes passed before she finally remembered to close the door. It didn't take her more than half an hour to figure out where her letter had gone to.

She was too tired for this.

-.-

Next morning, of course, she went to see him. Before the rest of the camp rose in fact, it was still dark outside when she snuck her way to the west wing. She opened the door to the building she'd visited every night for the past month as quietly as possible and headed straight for the last door. The one he'd told her was off limits. _Well guess what? My letters are off limits!_ She was still fuming about his little stunt when she woke up that morning. She'd almost broken the watch he gave her, in fact. Then she remembered that was the single most useful thing she had while on camp and decided it wasn't worth it. If anything, it would only complicate things for her.

She reached for the handle and tried turning it open. It wouldn't budge _off course it wouldn't, who was she kidding? _ She had hoped (a little naively) that maybe he being the arrogant man he was, he wouldn't lock his door at night. Apparently, he did.

She froze on the spot when she heard the telltale creaking of the wood right behind her. Like when someone (a very silent someone) walked on the old wooden floors from the hallway. It was calculated though, she knew only one person could be that quiet, and she knew for a fact if he didn't want her to hear him approaching, he could have been completely silent. Her fears were only confirmed when she felt his breathing at the back on her neck, right where her hairs were beginning to rise up defying all laws of gravity._ She was screwed. _

"I don't suppose you have an explanation for this?"- Came the low baritone against her left ear. She didn't dare turn around, but she did try to keep the quivering out of her voice

"Major! What a surprise to find you here so early in the morning!"- She exclaimed. Not really as casual as she'd been hoping, but nevertheless, no quivering.

"Surprising indeed, It is what happens when one visits someone's personal abodes"

"Yeah, well you know me. I like surprises, I wanted to surprise you"

"How unfortunate for you, for I do recall telling you that door was off limits and you seemed to be just about to break in without my permission. Did you expect me to be asleep as well?"

"I wasn't"-

"Don't lie to me Rin. I can _smell_ it when you're not honest".

"Fine!"- She turned around to face him- "You took something from me last night and I want it back". She almost took a step back when she got a look at him. He was sporting a dark set of pants, similar to the ones regular soldiers used for training, only without the camouflage and maybe a little more fitted for his long lean legs that the standard issued uniforms the army provided. Over his chest, there was a deep gash running from the left of his neck to the top of his solar plexus, one that already seemed to be healing before her eyes. Of course, she wouldn't have been able to see that if it weren't for the fact that he was shirtless. He didn't seem to notice her ogling.

"No"

"What?"- _Oh right! We're in the middle of something._ She recovered fairly quickly_- "_No? Is that it? You take what doesn't belong to you and you're just going to say no?"- He was unbelievable!

"Yes"- He said dragging out the 's' in a way that made all her back fill with goosebumps. Only then, she realized he had moved to open the door and she was left standing alone in the hallway. Only, the door was still open- since you're so eager to get into my chambers, why don't you join me for breakfast?

"W-what?"

"Unless you want to stay there and risk both our positions if someone finds you here"- he explained from somewhere in the left, she could only assume that was the kitchen- "_you_ shouldn't be here at this hour"- He reminded her, using the very threat she had given him the night prior. His taunting tone suggested he wouldn't hold it against her, but she decided as she crossed the doorframe, she didn't want to put his good spirits to the test. She closed the door behind her.

-.-

_A/N: Yes, I know, I'm evil… I'm updating now, does that count for something?_

_Thank you all for your continued support, I thought since today is the end of the world, I might as well make a little gift to you. Maybe you'll have another one for Christmas? ;)_


	12. Chapter 12: In the middle of war

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Entertainment reasons only.

* * *

><p><strong>In the middle of war<strong>

She stood awkwardly in the middle of his… uh…she wasn't sure what to call it, house, was a little too homey and this definitely didn't look like anyone's home, but it was a little too big and luxurious to call it his chambers. What was it he had said? Abode? Huh… she decided she'd just call it the major-cave for the time being (he didn't need to know that)

She cleared her throat as he continued to take different cups and boxes from the cupboards as though she weren't there. He seemed to be looking for something and when she thought it was her chance to offer her help with whatever he needed (if only to get over the awkward silence in the room) he found what he was looking for; a pot of expensive-looking tea in a finely carved metal that looked it had been around for a long time.

He stopped his motions and arched an eyebrow her way. She thought for a minute he looked like he didn't think she would actually come inside. _Had he forgotten he had invited her for breakfast?_ Instead he made a slight nod in the direction of the high chairs by the counter and asked her to take a seat (more like ordered, but she'd forgo that for now) She needed to get her letter back, better to play nice for the time being. She sat in the red chair, feeling it a little too stiff and a little too high, even though, for the rest of the décor, it was quite the daring piece of furniture. She took a moment to look around the room; she was in what she could only assume was the common areas, although, she noted, there was no couch and also, no TV. In fact, the only thing in that room that seemed to indicate they were in a private space and not in a really big office was the loveseat by the fireplace (and of course the fact that there was a fireplace, trunks and all) Other than that, the huge desk and the rather large collection of books in the shelves made everything look rather impersonal. It was ironic really, for it did look exactly like the place where he would live. Cold and rigid. Just like the chair she was currently sitting on.

She turned her attention back to the kitchen as she heard the whistle of the kettle in the stove. He then took out two identical white cups from the cupboard above his head and poured the boiling water over the baskets containing the black tea. She counted the exact 13 seconds he took with each and wondered feebly if he was in fact aware of his over-controlling behavior. _Of course he was_ if she'd learned anything, it was that Sesshoumaru Sato never did things without a purpose.

He extended her one of the cups and took the other for himself, sipping it carefully as he stirred something in the saucepan. _Omelet? _ She could barely smell what he was making, but it did look like something of the sort.

She sipped the tea he put in front of her and early spurted it out as she realized he hadn't put any sugar in it. And it was already twice as strong as she usually put it. He threw a look over his shoulder and she could see the mocking light in his eyes.

"Something wrong?"- He asked calmly, sipping on his own tea as if it were water. She clenched her teeth knowing he had done it on purpose

"No, everything's fine sir"- She forced a smile on her lips and he went back to what he was doing, lightly shaking his head at her stubbornness, but faintly amused as well.

She cleared her throat to get his attention, although she knew he had already been listening and waiting for her to speak

"You know why I came here major"

"Indeed, you wanted to have breakfast with me so we could discuss the developments of your investigation"- She clenched her hands around the cup in front of her and took a deep breath, silently counting to ten.

"No"- She said slowly – "I came here because I want you to give me my letter back"

"And what makes you think I have it"- He said, carefully choosing his words not to lie even though he knew exactly what she meant

"You came to see me yesterday and now my letter is gone, it disappeared right after you left. Isn't that a little convenient?"

"You shouldn't have it"- He said in a tone that indicated he was not going to have this discussion with her. To make his point, he placed a plate in front of her and gave her a set of fork and knife, before he excused himself from the room and disappeared to what she could only guess was his bedroom. She wondered briefly if he intended for her to eat alone. She'd never really seen him eat in all the time she knew him, so she wasn't quite sure what to make of his little Houdini act. Five minutes passed, and just as she reached for the fork to star eating on her own, he appeared again, this time, with a shirt on and smelling like fresh soap. She thanked any god silently that she had actually waited, as he sat across from her and proceeded to eat, all the while staring directly at her. She didn't know what that look meant, but she didn't know whether to feel uncomfortable or slightly flattered that he was paying so much attention to her. When the weight of his stare became too much to bear, she averted her eyes to the food in front of her and resolved not to look up again until she could calm her racing heart. She knew from where he sat, he could hear it. He was the first to break the silence.

"Are you going to tell me what you expected to achieve by coming here and sneaking into my chambers?"

"Are you going to give me back my letter?"

"No"

"Then I'm not going to tell you a thing"- She replied, putting a large piece of the omelet in her mouth to keep herself from speaking more she should.

"Here I thought you were actually old enough to be in the army"- he taunted, pointing out how childish she was being. Any other day, she might have considered that an insult. Today, she didn't care much- She smiled to him in the way she knew often got to his nerves, although she'd never asked why. She had a feeling he wouldn't say.

"And yet I'm old enough that you invite me over for breakfast?"- She rebutted. He didn't say anything, but she felt the threat in the air when he looked at her. She tried unsuccessfully to shake the chills down her spine that she knew where the result of a spike in his aura. He was sending her a message, and it clearly read _stand down. _Well, she was not exactly known for subordination – something wrong major?

"You should stop playing whatever game you thing you're playing before you get yourself hurt"

"And you should mind your own business"- She smiled again- "sir"

"Enough!"- He barked as he slammed his palm on the counter, sending all the utensils (and part of the food) flying a few inches in the air- "You will not have that blasted letter back and you better be grateful I'm not reporting you to anyone for this little stunt of yours"

"What were you doing earlier?"- She asked, completely ignoring his outburst. If he was remotely thrown off by the sudden change in subject he didn't show it

"I don't think I need to answer to the likes of you"

"Can't we at least pretend for once we're having a civil conversation over breakfast?"- He glared at her as if he thought the idea preposterous, but nevertheless, complied.

"Training"

"What kind of training? You had a very nasty looking wound in yo...-"- his eyebrows rose as she struggled to find a way to finish her sentence without making it obvious she had been staring at him- "err- I mean...uh..Really, so early?"

"If you must know, I train in the woods"- he said, still looking at her with an scrutinizing attention-

"What's in the woods?"- she asked, wondering how many more questions he would be willing to answer before he snapped

"Finish your breakfast before I change my mind about letting you come inside"- _not many more, then_

"I thought we were past the threats major. Don't you need me to remain as unsuspicious as possible? You're not doing this for me"- she explained slowly- "You're doing it for yourself".

He didn't respond anything and she knew she had him. The chills in her arms intensified until she couldn't hold the fork still. She still ignored him. Ten minutes passed in utter silence, the scrapping of knives over porcelain the only indication that something was actually happening in the thick atmosphere of the room.

She almost winced as he got up from his spot in front of her. The sound of the chair against the wooden floor being the only indication he was mad. He usually didn't make any sound for anything. The man was silent like a ninja, maybe even worse.

She took the last bite from the omelet and drank the rest of the bitter tea before she prepared to take the dishes and clean them; however, as soon as she pushed them away, an envelope was dropped in front of her. The textured paper seemed to mock her.

Beside it, he dropped a folder, coming around the counter so that they were sitting once again face to face.

"Open it"- he commanded. She threw him an uncertain look, but reluctantly admitted she would have to do it anyway of she was to know what to make of the situation. Inside, there was a dossier full of personal information on one man; a blurry photograph and a name were the only things she was currently contemplating. _Musashi_ _Onigumo, why does that name sound..? _ It struck her like a thunderclap and she remembered the conversation they'd had a little over a month ago about the attack on the showers and how it was somehow connected with the accident that had put the major in the hospital wing.

"Why are you showing me this?" – She asked confused at the sudden change of subject. He might have been trying to distract her, but then again, why give her back her letter?

"Page three"- He answered instead. She furrowed her brows, but nevertheless, did as he instructed, gently passing the pages until she came to the one with a little number three on the right upper corner of the paper.

There was a photocopy of the man's ID and some other pieces of information about his familial bonds, such as, for example, a birth certificate of one Aito Kagura (who she knew was somehow connected to the rebels, although she didn't know the details of that) and a few other documents that didn't seem to be related in any form.

"I don't understand".

"Kagura has been put in custody of the army for the last three months and in all that time, she has been trying to get away from the imprisonment through different methods. A month ago, however, she decided to offer information on the rebels to help further the ongoing investigations".

"A month ago? You mean after the incident on the showers"

"Indeed".

"So she just had a change of heart? Just like that?"

"I can be very persuasive"- He replied cryptically. She refused to let his words affect her and instead, blamed the sudden tightening in her chest to a sense of foreboding of what he planned to do to her. It was most definitely _not _jealousy over the prospect of what exactly he meant by _persuasion._ She cleared her throat

"Well, what did she tell you?"

"Kagura Aito is not really her real name. It is rather Kagura Musashi. Or should be, had Onigumo actually acknowledged her as his child".

"Wait, so…Kagura is Onigumo's child?"- He only nodded- "And she changed her name to avoid any links to the rebels"- She whispered, more to herself than to him- "But then, why would she betray her father? Aren't you worried this is another one of her lies?"

"The rebels don't take well to failure, Rin"- _Right, they'd tried to kill her. The rebels and by extension her father, wanted her dead. _ She almost felt sorry for her, Rin's own father had never done anything other than love her.

"But you said there was another traitor? Surely she must know who that is"

"She doesn't"

"And you believed her?"- He sent her a pointed look and she remembered what he had said about not lying to him- "ok, point taken. Still, what does this have to do with me?"

"Your letter Rin, it wasn't written by your father, but rather by that nasty individual Onigumo"

"What? How would you know that?"

"It smells of a very particular kind of miasma he uses against his enemies. It is so toxic no human would be able to survive it, if exposed to it for more than two minutes"- Her mind flew back to the black smoke she had inhaled back in the showers that day. She swallowed audibly- "In order to use it, he has made himself immune to it. So he always carries it on him at all times. My guess is he doesn't know of your association with me, which is the reason you can't tell anyone about it"

"And how, exactly did this person find a way to disguise himself as my father to send me letters? Why me, at any rate? I'm nothing special and neither is my father"- She said, rolling her eyes skeptically. None of this was making any sense. His eyes suddenly stopped on her (well, more intensely than before)

"Have you talked to you father about the people in the camp Rin?"- The underlying _have you talked about me _didn't go missing to her

"I've…"- she averted her gaze from him, feeling slightly embarrassed that she had to tell him about her letters- "not about you, sir"- She finished quietly. She didn't know why, but talking to her father about the major had always seemed rather…personal. She'd considered it a few times, but always felt uncomfortable doing so- "only about the sergeant and a few squad mates"- then she elaborated- "my father knows Kohaku from before"

"I noticed"- he replied and his lip twisted a little at the corner at that statement. She blushed in embarrassment as she remembered her father's insistence on her relationship with Kohaku. Then, his features tensed as realization seemed to drawn on him- "Uchiha and Kouga"

"What?"

"Kouga has been in missions against the rebels before. He saw Onigumo in one of those missions".

"So, you think they're trying to get to Kou- err…- the sergeant through me? Why? Just because he's seen the guys face?"

"Kouga took something that belonged to Onigumo on that mission"- He was now looking out into space, deep in thought.

"What about Kohaku?"- At his blank stare she elaborated- "you mentioned Uchiha before?"

"Rather, his sister, Sango Uchiha"- but he didn't elaborate further than that. She was having a little bit of an information overload and it was really too early in the morning for that. She decided now would be a good time as any to let him know of the thing she had found.

"Well, I did some digging on the authorization you gave me the other day and it turns out it was delivered to one of the officers early that day. Apparently it was a woman, pale features and she turned it in to captain Byakuya". I didn't remember why that sounded familiar but I overheard some soldiers talking about a girl near the borders with a similar description on the night before the attacks. Apparently, she's somewhat of a pale beauty- He nodded and seemed to come to a conclusion.

"Kanna"- He whispered

"Who?"- she didn't know why that name sounded familiar

"She's Onigumo's other daughter. She's never been actively part of the rebels, but it is a known fact he sometimes uses her as a distraction".

"Huh… well, then, it's pretty safe to assume she's the one who forged your signature. How do you think she got a hold of it though?"

He didn't respond. But he did have a very good idea of how she'd managed to get her hands on his signature and he was already dreading the answer. _Jakken. _

* * *

><p>He'd kicked her out of his chambers a little before 6, which barely gave her time to return the way she'd come under the rising sun. On the way to the dorm, she found Kohaku and another two soldiers; the former stepped away from the group to catch up to her. He didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary even though she was stiff as an arrow as he grabbed her by the elbow so they could talk.<p>

His whisper was almost secretive and she held her breath preparing for what he was going to say. _Had he found out about the major? Had he seen her coming from the west wing?_

But he was wiping his hands on his pants, as though nervous about something.

"Hey"- He said, trying to sound casual, even though she could see he was quite uncomfortable.

"What's up?"- She answered bluntly, faintly interested, but a little bit distracted as the time to get to the training fields got closer and closer.

"Umm...fine. I'm… Rin y-you… I mean"- He cleared his throat loudly, bringing her attention back to him _was he blushing now? –"I_- I have something to ask you"- He finished confidently, yet not nearly as loud as he'd started.

"Sure, ask away"-

"Are you..?- He seemed to strangle in his own voice- I mean... err... is there anyone..?"- She raised her eyebrows encouraging him to go on, even though she didn't say a thing. She knew he would lose his resolve if she did that. The next phrase came in such low whisper if she hadn't been two feet in front of him she would have missed it – "Are you seeing anyone?"- _Huh? _She suddenly got unreasonably nervous. _He couldn't know, could he? _Her eyes caught the uncontrolled shaking of her left hand and she stuck it in her pants pocket in an attempt to appear nonchalant.

"W-what do you mean?"- She averted her gaze to the side, trying to look uninterested. Her nerves were wrecking havoc on the omelet she'd had for breakfast (and it was a rather good omelet)

"I mean, are you... err-spoken for?"- She furrowed her eyebrows at that, silently breathing a sigh of relief. _He didn't know about the major_

"Um, not that I know of, no"- why would he..?-"why?"

"… well, there's going to be a dinner party fo-"

"Rin! Rin! Rin!"- She turned her attention to the voice calling her from 20 meters away. As he came closer, she noticed Shippo was wearing his bright orange hair loose rather than the usual high ponytail he used during training hours. He seemed to have come running all the way from his dorm. He stopped dead in his tracks as he caught sight of Kohaku and finished with an awkward- "ugh...hi".

Kohaku remained silent, but she could see the moment something in him changed and knew instantly he was not going to finish what he had been about to ask her

"Is everything ok Shippo?"- she asked, a little intrigued over the reason he had been calling her.

"I, uh… Would you"- he swallowed before he sent a furtive look to the awkwardly quiet Kohaku- "err…like to go have breakfast?"- he asked, although she had the distinct impression that was not what he had planned to ask her at first- "they're giving blueberry muffins this morning"- he clarified, suddenly interested in his very untied shoelaces

"I…"- She cursed herself for not being able to avoid this- "I'm actually not hungry"- she finished, though she didn't sound too convincing. Kohaku's head snapped up at that and she knew what he was going to say before he said it

"What are you talking about? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day"- He reminded her, as if he recited the phrase from memory- "you told me that yourself"- _Uh… right, that was why_

"And you love blueberry muffins"- Shippo supplied. Just like that, they both united against her and she had no choice but to join them for breakfast.

By the time she finished her buttered toast, cheese, orange juice _and _coffee_ (Really? Is that all you're going to have?) _she felt like she couldn't breathe. If she wasn't completely against wasting food, she would have vomited right there and then. _God, she couldn't even move._

Training after that had been, for lack of a better word, hell.

* * *

><p>Sesshoumaru-sama? - He didn't even acknowledge Jakken when he entered the office; instead he went straight to the archives where he knew he would find her folder.<p>

Personal information on new recruits was usually kept secret for the security of those involved. At any rate, the army only needed willing men. But it wasn't precisely a man he was interested in at the moment. And something had caught his attention about this particular subject. His hand stopped abruptly as it came across the folder labeled as Suzuki Rin.

"Lock the door"- He ordered, not even lifting his gaze to see if Jakken would follow through with his order. For all of his faults, Jakken knew better than to disobey him.

"Sesshoumaru-sama? What are you looking for?"- _He should also know better than to question him_. He didn't have time to explain. And he was sure he wouldn't, even if he had the time. He continued to ignore him.

Then he caught a smell of something aching to ozone coming from one of the last pages in the folder. He might have missed it, had he not smelled it before. _Kagura. _It had been she who gave him Rin's diary as prove of her testimony. And this only confirmed that she had also been the one to mislead the rebels into attacking the young private. She needed a new face, someone they could easily mistake for the wind sorceress. She had known they wouldn't come close enough to check. She'd also known once they found out, Rin would prove to be enough of a distraction to lead them away from her.

He snapped the folder shut and opened the next one containing a series of reports on the last month.

"Jakken, from now on, every time you receive a letter for Suzuki Rin, I want you to burn it"- he instructed, while turning the pages to the file as quickly as his demon eyes allowed him to read and memorize the contents of it- "the ones she sends, you will bring them directly to me"- he added

Jakken's eyes opened as sources when he heard the words leaving the major's mouth. Could it be? Could the major be harassing the girl into leaving the army? Why would he do that? He didn't particularly care for the stupid human, mind you, but in all the years he could pride himself in knowing the major as he did (although he suspected no one _really_ knew him) he had never witnessed open cruelty from him to anyone. Well… not _that _kind of cruelty, the major was usually much more open about his hate for people, and even then, that resumed to his brother (whom he financially maintained without the ungrateful brat's knowledge) and Onigumo (but that was understandable, given the fact that the man had tried to wipe him from existence). By comparison, this seemed rather juvenile of him. Jakken didn't know what to think of his new order, but if he had learned anything at all these years, was that the major always had a reason for the way he acted, and his instincts guided him better than any compass, He was seldom wrong, if at all.

No matter how misguided his reasoning seemed, the major knew what he was doing._ If only he could get him to tell his loyal servant why._

* * *

><p>She had two short hours to put herself together before she went to meet the major for their daily sessions, and for the first time, she thought, she was really too tired for this.<p>

He wouldn't take any excuses though, she was not dumb enough to think she would get away with it, so she reluctantly grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair and made the long silent walk to the west wing.

* * *

><p>-"You're late"- he announced as soon as she pushed the door open<p>

- "I'm not"- she replied tiredly

- "three hours late, in fact"

- "don't be like that, major, I've been coming at 9 for a month now, I thought we'd agreed this was better"

- "we didn't agree on anything, you've just been doing as you please for a month and I've let it slip"

- "well if it means so much to you, I'll come at six tomorrow. And you don't have to spare me anymore, I don't need to own you anything, so go ahead, threat me like you would any other _male _soldier".

He seemed intrigued at that, and before she could even blink, he was standing In front of her and sending her on her back.

"You could have given me a chance to get in and place my stuff!"- she screamed in exasperation- "He didn't seem to notice"

"I gave you a chance, it expired three hours ago"- _why was he being such a grumpy pant?_ She stood up from the floor and went to put her bag on the corner

"Oh, really? Well I'm sorry I'm"- He knocked it out of her hands with a swift hit of his bokken- What the hell, major?!

He didn't respond, but just as soon proceeded to attack her again. She bent at the stomach to avoid a hit directly to her abdomen and instead the wood stuck between two of the buttons of her jacket. It was enough to make her loose her balance. _She was mad now. He wanted to play dirty? She would give him dirty_

Before he could make another move, she took off her jacket and bent down to tie her shoelaces twice. He gave her a total of 30 seconds to do so before he attacked her again. She barely had time to roll out of the way and reach for her own weapon before his collided loudly with the wooden floors. The impact reverberated for around the room for a whole minute, could have been more, but she didn't have time to linger on that though, as he was coming at her again with seemingly more force. _What was with him today? He was completely out of it._

She decided she had enough playing on the defensive stance, It was time to attack now, so she did just that; he of course, dodged her. She didn't stop though, soon she was aiming hits in all possible directions, tired of always being in the run from him; for once, she wanted him to back down. Her next hit, he did not dodge. Instead, his bokken connected with her own so forcefully her whole body felt the vibration of the hit. A month ago, she would have let go of her weapon, as it was, she had been expecting it. What she didn't expect was the next hit that fallowed, so after 15 full minutes of endurance, he was kicking her ass once again. She was beyond form now. This was war and she wouldn't go down without a fight. She acted quickly, rashly, without thinking. She knew it was the only way to catch him by surprise.

She pulled on his left sleeve.

Time seemed to stop the moment he registered what she had done. The pull didn't have nearly half the strength needed to put him down, but he had been distracted and he hadn't been expecting it. For the whole five seconds that followed, they were both falling; she, with a satisfied smirk in her face and he, with barely contained shock. They were the longest five seconds she'd ever lived, she wondered how long his shock would last before turning into rage, he didn't like to lose, that much she'd learned. They hit the floor.

Needless to say, that had been her last strike of luck for the night. Before she could attempt something similar, he too, took off his jacket and threw it somewhere near her own. She swallowed around her suddenly dry throat at the slow smirk that settled over his lips after that.

Somewhere along the night, her hair became unbound and she never had the time to put it back in a bun. They fought restlessly.

Sometime along the night, the force of one well-aimed attack broke her weapon in half. He threw his own bokken away then, but just as she thought that would be the end of the training, he took a fighting stance and started to guide her through the basics of hand to hand combat. She pretended not to be too affected by this.

At the end of the session she was panting, and sweating so much thought she wouldn't catch her breath for the rest of her life. She wasn't sure if it was from training of the heavy tension in the room. The clock in her wrist read 1:13, that was their longest session yet, but it had been over way too soon.

She almost dropped the boot she had been holding (she'd lost it somewhere in the night) when she lifted her gaze and he was taking off his undershirt. She quickly averted her eyes from his ridiculously sculpted body and wondered if it was even possible for someone that hot to exist. She must have been really tired to be thinking of him that way.

When she turned her attention back to him, he was taking his jacket from the ground, although she could see he had no intention of putting it on (then again, he was all sweaty and…yeah)

His low baritone filled the room then

-"There's going to be a dinner party for Christmas in the north area of camp a weeks from now"- She stopped what she was doing, not completely understanding where he was going with that. When he didn't say anything else, she asked

- "why are you telling me this?" She realized this is what Kohaku (and she suspected Shippo as well) had wanted to tell her that morning.

- "I need you to take the opportunity to investigate an anomaly in the forest near the south of the camp"- She almost sighed in frustration. What had she been expecting, really?

- "well, has it ever occurred to you I might already have plans to go to this dinner party sir?"- now it was him who stopped what he was doing. He down the bottle of water he'd been about to drink and his jaw set in the painfully tight line she'd come to recognize as a sign he was trying to control his temper.

- "do you, now? And who, may I ask is taking you?"- his voice was deadly quiet, and she resisted the urge to flinch at the pure venom in his words. She wouldn't even pretend to understand what that tone meant.

- "w-well… nobody yet, but...-"- He relaxed visibly at that

- "It is not up for discussion then, I will collect you at 2200"- he announced, already heading towards the door. Then, as an afterthought he added- "wear something casual".

She almost laughed at the way he made it sound like a date. _If only…_

* * *

><p><em>-.-<em>

_A/N: A little late, but still, close enough for christmas, hope you guys are having a really nice holiday :) and I hope this chapter answered some of your questions. It's a little slow, because I've already writen a following scene that I think needs some explaining in order for it to make sense. So much drama... _

_Maybe something else will happen on new year's eve... ;) _


	13. Chapter 13: Landmines

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the Characters, nor do I make any profit from this, other than personal entertainment :)

* * *

><p><strong>Landmines<strong>

Rin groaned as she stood in front of her tiny mirror with a very important dilemma in her hands. She bent her elbow and placed a dark blue blouse in front of her, it's loose fabric had a silk-like shine was discrete enough to go unnoticed, but fashionable enough that it could be considered an evening-night-out outfit.

She took a second glance at her black super skinny jeans and pondered for the 5th time if they were decent enough for the occasion; she had already ruled out skirts to keep a flexible outfit, since she didn't know yet the exact requirements of this particular_ mission_. She scrunched her nose a bit at her reflexion. _And what was casual supposed to mean?._

She extended the blouse away from her body and placed the other hanger in front of her; this one had a light grey, short-sleeved shirt with a low back and a fitted waist which extended just over her belt. She tried it on, looked at herself in the mirror and immediately ruled it out. She was dressing as though this were a date, and she kept reminding herself it was most definitely _not _that, nevertheless, the small mountain in her bed seemed to indicate otherwise.

The major had not given her many directions and even though they had meet twice for training since the day he asked (ordered) her to go with him who-knew-where he hadn't said another word on the matter. She, on the other hand, had had to make yet another long string of excuses to explain to both Shippo _and_ Kohaku why she didn't think she would be very much in the mood to attend to a Christmas dinner party, even though she was away from home and by all accounts she had nothing better to do with her night. She couldn't even remember what she had said, but apparently, it was a decent enough lie that they had reluctantly left her alone. That, and she had agreed to _consider it. _

She turned her attention to her almost empty closet, stroking the too-colorful fabrics on her wardrobe. It wouldn't do to call too much attention. _Blue it is then._ Before she could take the shirt off, she heard a knock on her door and distracted as she was, she went to open it without thinking. She later had to admit her reaction was a little childish, as her first instinct was to close it back when she came face to face with the major. With his quick reflexes, however, she only managed to slam the door against his foot before he opened the door further to let himself in.

He, of course, looked like a model in his very casual black fitted pants (with designer's belt), combat boots and grey Henley. He even had a black leather jacket slung over his shoulder. She couldn't help but be envious of his laid-back and collected air, but it was soon forgotten as she realized (rather horrified) they actually _matched. _

He ignored her dropped jaw as he walked further into the room, all the while eyeing suspiciously the assortment of clothes over her bed. He decided to sit of the (for once vacant) chair in her room.

"I thought I tould you I would come at 22:00. Right now is 22:05".

"I'm a girl"- she explained, like it was all the answer he needed. Once again checking her appearance in the mirror in front of her, then, she pulled her hair up debating on whether or not she should wear it down for the evening and almost smiled satisfied as his eyes traveled over the expanse of her exposed back. _Up it was._

It wasn't a date, but that didn't mean she couldn't look accordingly.

-.-

Kohaku tightened a red tie over his neck and smoothed the invisible wrinkles in his already perfect white button-down shirt. He checked the clock for the third time that evening. Deciding it was probably best to get himself a drink before the trembling in his hands got even worse than it already was. _Yes- _he nodded to himself-_ a drink is what he needed_.

He attempted to smooth the hairs sticking out from his tightly pressed bun over his head, before he realized his skittish antics were beginning to win him a few side glances from his fellow squad members. He smiled weakly at the group gathered nearest to him and just as quickly, the conversation resumed as they pointedly ignored him.

He knew all this contempt was the result of his continued support to both Rin and Shippo, as they were seen as the weakest members of the squad. Shippo was just careless, that he knew, but he was also a demon, and however lower class, he still had a long time ahead of him to show his full potential. This, he knew for a fact from his (however short) training in the family tradition of demon slaying.

Rin, he didn't really understand. But did he ever want to. He had accompanied her to the tryouts, had seen the cold skeptical faces of the examinators when she came in the room, had witnessed beforehand the verbal (and sometimes physical) abuse of his so called comrades against her and still, she pushed herself harder and harder to be better. At first, he had been tempted to dissuade her, to convince her to go back to the safety and comfort of her home. He hadn't honestly believed she could improve and he had wanted to spare her the suffering so bad.

Then, something had changed. In the space of two months (although he wouldn't analize if it had been more, this is when he _noticed)_ she had gone to being the laugh of camp, to the unwilling victim to… well, he didn't even know what she was now, but she didn't seem so much of an easy target anymore. He didn't quite know what she had done, but she had proved him wrong. He knew the others didn't see it, but there was definitely a different _cadence_ to her step.

He resisted the urge to lift his eyes to the door as yet another group of soldiers entered the room. He knew he wouldn't find anyone of interest in those groups. The person he wanted to be here was most likely to come alone (if she ever came, at all) He considered paying her a visit, trying to convince her to come with him _again_. His eyebrows frowned at that and he extended his hand to pour whiskey on a glass. The ice proved a little more difficult grab with the tongs and after the 2nd failed attempt he decided he no longer wanted any ice, _didn't people drink straight whiskey all the time? Surely it couldn't be that bad_, he though as he brought the drink to his lips. He almost spit it back out as the nasty burn of the liquid came in contact with his tongue. He suppressed a grimace and coughed subtly as the fire descended through the length of his throat. _Cheap whiskey then_, not that he had ever been an expert, but he was sure no drink was intentionally made to taste that bad. Thinking it better, he reached his hand to take of a few cubes of ice from the bucket on the table and turned his back on it, only to run straight into someone.

He felt the cold drench through his shirt before he actually registered the fact that he had spilled his drink over himself. He lowered his eyes slowly, but to his surprise (and dread) it was not _his _drink but rather the punch once belonging to the stranger's glass what had coated the front of his white shirt in dark pink substance. He dared even assume there was some type of fruit in it if the small chunks where anything to go by. He slowly brought his eyes up fallowing the curve of the person's arm from their empty glass to the tweed beige jacket to the slicked back moth of _orange_ hair.

-"_Shippo?"- _he asked incredulous as his friend scratched the back of his stiff-looking hair with his empty hand.

- "hi Kohaku! Ugh, I'm sorry about your shirt, I was only coming over to say hi and I didn't expect you to turn so suddenly"- he explained hurriedly as he let out a nervous squeal at Kohaku's neutral (yet disbelieving) expression

- "I…"- kohaku's shoulders slumped, finally able to relax after a good gulp of his drink- "It's ok, It's still early, so I can go change"- _problem was he didn't want to _he'd bought that especially for that night and now it was ruined. Regardless, the apologetic look in Shippo's face was enough to forgive him. It seemed like he didn't really have a choice but to come back. The thought of missing Rin's arrival didn't somehow range very high compared to the humiliation he would suffer if she were to see him like this. Not that she would care, but _he_ would.

- "can I come with you?"- Shippo blurted out, before he lowered his gaze in embarrassment- "I.. I don't know many people here"- he explained. Kohaku didn't have to be a genius to understand the plea in Shippo's tone and even though he would much rather go on his own, he understood the other boys's worries as he too passed his hands over his hair in a compulsive fashion, much like he had been doing only minutes before.

- "Ok, but let's be quick"- they exited the doors just as the music started.

-.-

She noticed he was awfully quiet for someone who hated waiting. He was looking at her and her hands stopped mi-air as their eyes locked through the mirror's reflection. The way passed a languid look at her was patient and openly shameless, he looked at her in that way of his that always seemed to know more about everything than was fair for any living creature. Her eyes caught in the motion and roamed all the refined features in his face deciding that he was also more handsome than any man _or demon_ had any right to be. All fresh air coming in through the window didn't seem to reach her lungs, but a lock of dark hair fell from her grip she blinked rapidly as the contact was broken. She breathed shakily and decided now would be a good time to put on her shoes. As soon as she bent to pick the black plums she had planned on wearing his hand closed around her wrist, stopping her effectively.

"Wear comfortable footwear"- was all he said. She let out the breath that had somehow gotten stuck in her throat and settled for boots. Almost half an hour later (he was suspiciously adamant that she didn't wear makeup) they were walking down the dark corridors leading to the dinner party. As they neared the celebration he made a right turn and she knew he had never intended for them actually attend the party. Part of her felt a little disappointed that things had in fact turned out exactly as she had predicted them.

"Where are we going?"- she inquired as he led them close enough to the building to hide in its shadows.

"Follow my lead"- he whispered, before they plunged into the dark night.

-.-

Shippo stopped under one of the lights in the long corridors leading up to their dorms.

-"what's wrong?"- he furrowed his eyebrows, not sure what he was smelling, but decided he would probably be better off not knowing. He shook his head

- "no, nothing. Do you think Rin will come to the party?"-

- "I don't know"- responded Kohaku hesitantly- "they both turned their gaze to the dark, in the direction of the female dorms"- Maybe we can visit later- "he added more quietly

- "uh…yeah, sure"- he could have sworn he had smelled something like strawberries somewhere nearby.

-.-

"What if someone sees us? You know damn well I can't climb worth a stick!"- she whispered furiously. He turned his head sideways and looked her down the shoulder like the mere idea was ridiculous to begin with. She hated his patronizing looks. They all seemed to say 'you're such a girl' although in his mind it would probably sound more along the lines of 'you ignorant _human _child'

She didn't know exactly why they needed to jump over the fences of the camp, but he seemed convinced that was the most effective way of going about things. Hell, she didn't know why he needed her. She was sure he was capable of doing all the secret agent routine on his own and he made her dress up! (well, he actually hadn't, but still)

"Give me your hand"- he said, already setting his eyes away from him to look at something on the other side of the fences. She realized then he had only been half-paying attention to her, he'd never turned completely to face her anyways. She resisted the urge to ask why and just did as he asked. He would get his way, anyways.

As soon as her hand landed on his, he pulled her against him and the next second, her feet left the ground and her stomach dropped violently as he jumped them both over the fences. _She should have seen it coming, _but that didn't stop the undignified squeak from leaving her mouth or the rather embarrassing clinging to him even after he set her safely on the ground again. She just couldn't help it. He cast her a sideways glance and her already frantic heartbeat seemed to skip a few beats.

" Let go"- he said and she suddenly realized she had been digging her nails into the top of his arms for the past minute. _of course he would be tactful about it, he could have spared her the humiliation_

"A word of warning would have been nice, major"- She responded, swiftly taking her hands away from him.

He turned his back on her and kept walking like nothing had happened, but she did see the corners of his mouth rising in amusement. She let out a huff of annoyance, but decided not to push her luck, god only knew what the major would do if she so much as insinuated he was having fun.

-.-

Kohaku fumbled around his closet for a decent shirt to wear, already knowing none of them would be as good as the one he needed to change. On the way to the dorms, Shippo had offered to pay for drycleaning or attempt to magic it clean, but if he knew anything about untrained magic creatures, it was that they usually did more damage than the alternative, so he politely declined.

Shippo was fretting and moving around the room like a caged animal _which_, he thought humorously, _wasn't too far from the truth. _He was getting impatient. To be fair, _he _was getting impatient too, so he took the next-best-thing he had on his closet (his favorite green shirt) and quickly changed. He didn't like how casual he looked, but it would have to do.

-.-

She walked quickly behind him, careful not to miss his steps as he casually mentioned that part of the woods was infested in landmines. _Well she didn't feel like missing one or two limbs, thank you very much. _Not for the first time, she wondered how on earth someone had ever managed to harm Sesshoumaru Sato. She could barely see where she was going in the dark and had to rely on both her arms to keep the low foliage away from her face, not to mention the five times she had tripped and almost fell, if it wasn't for the major catching her. One of those times, she had reached out for some form of support and had ended up wrapping her arms around his waist; he had had the grace not to comment on it (even when she tripped again while trying to get some of her dignity back). He on the other hand, was nothing if not graceful and agile in a way that was almost feral. He looked as comfortable walking in the woods as he had when he had drank tea. She tried to memorize the way they had taken, but upon several turns she realized she would be completely lost if she didn't know for certain the major was a walking compass.

"Where are we going?"- she repeated, after half an hour of walking in complete and utter silence. She didn't particularly know when that became routine, but if she was going through with this, she figure she might as well try to get him to reveal _something_ about what they were doing walking in the middle of the woods at night and away from other people. If she didn't know better, she would have thought he was trying to get her alone to assault her. She snorted_ Now that was rich! If he wanted he could hav- _

"we're here"- he announced, stopping so suddenly she almost crashed into his back. She recovered quickly and narrowed her eyes in an attempt to decipher the shadows and textures around her. A careful inspection of her surroundings told her what she had suspected all along; trying to find something special about 'here' was pointless.

The place where they stood looked completely unremarkable. There was absolutely nothing particularly outstanding about that spot in the woods (if that was what he wanted her to see). She might as well have been in any area of the vast green expanses around camp and it would have looked the same for her. She suppressed the need to sigh, already dreading the question that was about to follow.

"I'm sorry major, you've lost me" _not that you ever let me in on what we're here for, or anything..- _she added silently. He gave her one of those looks. The ones that seemed to look like his regular aloof self, but had a distinct amount of _superiority_ that she just knew he thought he was so much above her – "well?"

"and here I thought out of all humans, you would be the most likely one to at least _feel _more than your eyes can tell" she didn't dwell too much on the backhanded compliment he had just given her as the actual meaning of his phrase drowned on her, she could feel the veins around her eye threatening to explode.

"what is that supposed to mean?"- she snapped. His non-bothered attitude gave her pause.

He inclined his face slightly indicating her to walk forward. The place he indicated was an empty space surrounded by five threes equidistant to each other. It was, for lack of a better word, a clearing, although It was really only bigger than a small tent. As she studied it more closely, she realized it was rather round blank space in the forest ground where no grass grew; so round in fact, that it was unnatural, almost like someone had had lit a giant bonfire in the middle of nowhere, and then had taken away all the ashes _or, _she mused _like someone had a nasty encounter with a mine_. She gave him a side-glance and advanced into the patch or earth. She walked no further than two steps when she felt a distinct… _warmth_ wash over her.

She had a sudden flash of a memory, older than herself, probably when she was still in the womb of her mother. She felt safe, loved and infinitely glad. She embraced the feeling and let it consume her until she felt lightheaded from the utter joy of… she didn't quite know _what_, but the sensations igniting every single one of her nerve endings was pure and wonderful in ways she could not even begin to put into words. Something tickled her cheek, sweping past her chin and she vaguely realized she was crying.

- "what is this place?"- her voice trembled and broke over the barely whispered words. She didn't know if she expected an answer, in fact, She couldn't even remember they had come out of camp, but she was glad they had. _So, so glad… _

He didn't answer, not so much because he didn't _want to_ answer, but because he _couldn't. _Something in him didn't feel comfortable with the site before him, but at the same time, he found it oddly entrancing. Like falling victim to the chant of a muse, he stood helpless as his hand rose in a silent need to reach, to wipe away the tears that so overwhelmed her. He had seen her cry once before, but this time was distinctly different, he could feel her soul as clear as if it were his own. She needed comfort. His hand met the edges of the barrier and met resistance, the smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils and the spell was broken.

"Major?"-

"This…"- He blinked slowly and the fog in his mind suddenly cleared. He couldn't pass the spiritual barrier and there was nothing there worth the immeasurable pain that would afford him. Not in his state- this is all I needed to see- he said finished at last. He then averted his eyes from hers.

Rin furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as Sesshoumaru turned on his heels and gave her his back, seeming detached but in fact struggling to assemble his thoughts as he waited for her to fallow. When she didn't move, he started walking away.

"don't"- he cut sharply as she reached out to grab his arm. She should have listened.

As soon as her hand came in contact with his, the circle lit up as if by magic, turning all the shapeless shadows to a strange blue-white hue that blinded her violently. Suddenly the warmth she had been feeling became uncomfortable, and her body begun to spasm with shocks that traveled from the tip of her feet to the roots of her hair. Her heart tumbled frenzied and unbound in her chest as the air became heavy with static. For a wild moment, she thought she could see herself falling to her knees. But that couldn't be right, as she was certain wherever down was, her feet were firmly planted on it.

The confusion didn't last long; soon enough all she could think of was how much It hurt. Everything hurt. She felt her hair stand on ends and her whole body become still as the light _burned_ her from the inside out.

In the distance, she thought she heard a voice, words slamming into her consciousness without ever making out a coherent meaning, _something about the circle_ she thought. The words sounded familiar but she couldn't focus enough to understand them. Her hand tightened around something and the burning sensation intensified. She wasn't sure she'd ever felt in so much pain in her life, and in her desperation, she forgot to breath.

Something crashed against her middle, she flew in the air for a short eternity and something familiar and comforting enveloped her and she thought it might have been a scent, but as she reached in her memories for a trace of recognition, everything went black.

-.-

She woke up the next day feeling disoriented and with a very pounding headache to go with her generally blind state. She was back in her room; still dressed in the clothes from the night before and there, by her clock lay her keys. She groaned in embarrassment trying to recall the last events of the night and darted closer to the nightstand where she confirmed indeed it was not yet early enough to be up. By her standards, weekends were NOT early days _It wasn't even 9! What was wrong with him?_

she went to the door and sure enough, it was him knocking on it. _didn't he know the meaning of private space? Time off? _

_-"_major, lovely to see you at this fine hour of the morning"- she greeted sarcastically. It was proof of how used he was to that kind of welcome he no longer felt the need to remind her he was her superior.

- "I need you to get dressed, you're going to run an errand for me"- she really could have kicked him right then and there, but she knew arguing with him was useless; she could always vent her frustrations on their training sessions.

- "well, in that case, I'll need to have some space"- she swung the door open before he could even stop her and there before them stood Shippo _and_ Kohaku. She stood paralyzed, trying unsuccessfully to come up with any excuse as to why there was an officer in her room at that time of the morning, behind closed doors. Her life was over.

-"for your sake, I hope I've made myself clear miss Susuki. Next time, I won't be so lenient"- _huh? _She looked at her squad mates and was confronted with terrified looks; there was no curiosity or even skepticism in them, just pure terror. She was quick to catch up.

-"yes sir"- she lowered her head in respect-It won't happen again. What wouldn't happen again, she wasn't sure

-"1000 private"- _was he crazy? Why would he say…?_

_-"_yes… sir"- she finished, swallowing the bitter words like they were pure vomit.

Then he turned to the other two

"I believe rules about visiting areas are still in place"- he threatened. She nearly slapped her forehead at his hypocrisy. Of course it was forbidden to enter the female dorms, but didn't he realize he was there as well?- "don't push your luck"- was that his way of saying he didn't want them in her room?. _The gall of him_.

After he left and the goosebumps died down she turned to her friends.

"Guys! What are you doing here?"- she asked a little nervously, still not believing they would buy the act. Shippo was the first to talk

"We were worried about you! What happened?"

"What? what do you mean?"

"We waited for you at the party and you never showed up, so we came here to see if everything was ok and we saw…"- he went very red all of a sudden- "I mean…"

What?- she had a bad feeling about whatever Shippo said they saw

"We saw major Sato carrying you over his shoulder. You looked pretty bad too"-

"Did he…"- did she really want to know? Hmm probably…- "did he say anything?"

"He said he found you passed out in a sidewalk. I think you might have interrupted something too, he was dressed like he had plans for the night"-

"On a sidewalk?"- unbelievable. He could have come up with something better. She had never been drunk in her entire life!

"Are you ok Rin? Don't you remember any of this? We couldn't stay long, but… well, you heard him"-

"I… I must have had a little more to drink than I thought"- she got out through her teeth. She was going to kill him. He had done that on purpose, she knew.

"Well, we'll leave you then, you should not make the major wait for you"- said Kohaku, already pulling Shippo down the hall with him- "we'll see you later Rin! Try not to get any other superior against you!"

It was baffling really how things always turned out in his favor. No way could she have ever got anyone to believe all that crap.

By the time night came, she was all geared up; she had been delivering packages all morning and then in the afternoon she had to sit through a horribly boring tactical training session for the major. She wasn't happy, so when she swung open the doors to the training room, she was made fire. That night the clank of swords was heard all through the west wing, quiet was not their latest motto.

-.-

The morning came with a lot of noises and undecipherable words mingling together with the now-familiar sound of her alarm clock on her nightstand.

She remembered she had been woken up and rubbed her eyes to clear them. If she were any other soldier (or private) in the camp, she couldn't have given it much importance. There was always a chance of there being too much noise when it came to shared facilities. This was not the case however, because 1. She was in the female dorms, where only a handful of women actually lived and 2. She didn't share a dorm with anyone. _So what the hell was all that noise?_

She swung her legs to the side of the mattress and reached for the closest sweatpants (a grey one with pink dots) she had left on the floor the day before. Her groggy self barely had slept 5 hours from all the intense training she'd had the night before with the major. She was finally starting to keep up with his endless…stamina and while he could still kick her ass without moving more than one hand (literally, she still couldn't get used to that) he seemed to have to resort more and more to new tactics to keep her from succeeding. It wasn't a victory, but it was better than nothing. And she _was _rather proud of herself.

She reached for a the missing sock on her left foot and put it on while taking her towel from the rack for her routine morning shower, deciding no matter what the others were up to in the female dorms, she still had to start her day as usual. She didn't care much for drama (and army drama was the worst)

She regretted it as soon as she opened the door to her room. Standing in front of her door were at least 20 soldiers and privates, some in uniforms, others in a variation of jogging clothing or sweatpants and t-shirts (army trend for sleeping attire was rather monotone) and they all turned to look at her as soon as her door creaked open.

Her initial shock died in a matter of seconds to be replaced by a sinking feeling of dread. All the faces in front of her were rather stony or shallow, some of them cornered her with their gazes and some just stared openly but she noticed, none with contempt. There were no mocking remarks and no one even seemed to notice her socks didn't even match or the fact that there was still some droll on her face were her hair stuck to her upper lip like a mustache. There was in fact a very heavy silence that had fallen like a blanket were minutes before there had only been commotion. That moment she knew something was wrong.

-.-

Her two closest friends came to her a little later that morning, She could distinguish Shippo's shy knocking to Kohaku's polite taps on her door. It was all the same though, she didn't want to talk to anyone, she didn't want to see anyone and she didn't want to have anyone's pity. She covered her head with the covers and drowned the world along with its sounds.

Somehow she wondered why she never heard the strong, firm taping of someone else's hand.

-.-

He didn't know how to tell her what he needed to tell her, so instead he wrote her a letter. He had never had trouble being honest with anyone; they'd often told him he was rather ruthless that way as well, for the first time in his life he felt he needed to protect someone's feelings and he was acting like a disgusting coward. The realization hit him harder than the bomb that brought her into his life, more than he was willing to admit to himself. All this time, he had been merciless with her, he had trained her and he had taken away her only true motivation to stay in the army. He'd been selfish and he'd burned her letters to _protect _her. He'd wanted to keep her from harm's way. It was only ironic how everything had turned out, for he now held in his hand the one letter that could have made a difference. She would never forgive him.

He tightened his jaw and slipped the letter under her door.

She'd been expecting it. As soon as he turned his back on her door, she opened it, her eyes red from crying but alight with a rage he'd never seen in her. Had he been any other man, he would have retreated from her.

- what the hell do you think you're doing?- She asked him, deceptively calm, even though her shaking hands were giving her away. He didn't respond, he knew it was a lost cause, there was nothing he could say to appease her. When he didin't respond, she continued - you thought I'd never find out, didn't you?- She was shaking with rage and in his eyes, she never looked more frail than at that precise moment.

- It was for your own good

- FOR MY OWN GOOD?!- she was screaming now and something in his chest tightened at the sight of her tears, they were angry tears and he hated himself the moment he almost reached his hand to wipe them away- are you fucking serious?! How could you come up such ridiculous excuse? I thought you were supposed to be a master strategist- She shouted. He decided not to take her insult to heart even though he knew he deserved as much. She wanted to hit a nerve.

- keep your voice down private- He ordered, not wanting to bring more attention to them than necessary, even though he knew it was a risk coming to that part of camp.

- right! I have to keep my voice down, and I have to behave and it's ok for you to order me around because you're my superior, just like in your head it's ok to burn my letters and keep me from warning my father from imminent danger _because _I'm just that to you. A private.

- You would have only made things worse by sending him a warning

- How the hell would you know that?- She spat. Leaving out a humorless laugh, then se added in a whisper- You know what? it doesn't matter, none of it matters anymore

He had been right, she wouldn't forgive him for this.

She bent to pick up the letter he'd written for her and pushed it into his chest before slamming the door to his face. He could smell the heavy scent of her tears through the door, but didn't dare push her. She'd made her wishes clear and if he ignored her wishes it would only confirm her accusations. He retreated.

-.-

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><p>It's been forever, I know... I won't annoy you with excuses, thanks to everyone who has followed thus far, this is for you :)<p> 


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